E P i C
by Art Anthony
Summary: Long ago in a land since forgotten, lurked evil too dangerous to mention, the tales of bravery of Alice and her warrior friends, would be born to become fables of legend.
1. Prelude to Madness

**PRELUDE TO MADNESS**

Alice was content.

At least she _**appeared**_ to be, staring unblinkingly and doe-eyed out of her bedroom window into the sun-scorched abyss of the midsummer skies.

She lived in a towering mansion seven floors high, filled with as many doors as it had rooms, each of those doors a towering monolithic slab of brushed-steel standing upright, like soldiers, firm and tall.

Outside in the mansion's expansive grounds, acres and acres of greenery stretched for miles in every direction, creating a virtual utopia of nature begging to be explored by the likes of Alice and the many _other_ occupants of this _most grand of mansions._

Alice's bedroom, however, was starkly sparse in comparison. With no furniture in sight, but for a single solitary bed tucked away neatly into the corner. The walls, much taller than they were wide, were plastered with a unique and quite expensive, padding material that would surely keep her warm in the chilling winters that were to come.

On this particular afternoon, Alice was paid a visit by... well... I guess you could call him 'an old friend'. He was, after all, an elderly, bespectacled man, kind of like that 'cool grandfather' you could always go to with any problem at any time for any help or advice, forever sporting a look of deep and solemn sincerity engraved across his worn and wrinkled visage.

As he opened the door to her room he found Alice perched on the edge of her bed, seemingly pondering life and all the challenges it had presented her as she rocked back and forth.

"Good afternoon, Alice!" he greeted her warmly.

"Good afternoon, Dr Seuss." she replied.

Oh, did I forget to mention? Alice lived in a psychiatric hospital for the mentally disturbed on 42nd Street.

"And how are we today?" he continued, as he sat beside her.

"'I'm not quite sure how 'we' are, doctor. I can, after all, only speak for **_myself! _**But I feel just... **peachy! **How about you? How are you on this wonderful afternoon?"

He jotted a few notes in his pad, before clearing his throat to answer.

"More than a little _perturbed_, if I'm to be honest, Alice."

"**Really?**" gasped Alice. "Perhaps _**you**_ should be the one locked up in **_here, _**wearing the straight jacket, and I could be the visitor wear the cheap white lab-coat, second-hand loafers and baked bean-stained collared grey checkered shirt?"

The doctor frowned in response.

"Second thoughts, maybe not." she sighed, before resuming to blankly stare out of the window.

"Now, now," said the doctor, "That wasn't called for. You know _**very well **_why you are here...!"

"To be another pet for you to play with, Dr?" she pondered. "Another chess piece on the board to... sacrifice... for your... queen?"

The doctor sighed a heavy sigh, removed his horn-rimmed glasses to give the lenses a thorough wipe using the base of his tie, before returning them to his face.

"It's funny you mentioning 'queen' Alice. Have you... thought anymore about our last conversation?"

"_Our last conversation?_" she pondered. "Gee... that was soooo long ago, I can _**hardly**_ be expected to-"

"**It was yesterday, Alice!**"

"Ah! Yes, so it was!" she tutted. "Refresh my memory of the topic...?"

"Wonderland. The Red Queen of Hearts. The Mad Hatter. Rapunzel. Red Riding Hood. Any of these names ring a bell?"

"To be honest, sounds like the line up for a 60's rock band festival. Personally I'm more of a jazz enthusiast myself... Miles Davis... John Coltrane. Ever been to The Blue Room?"

"**_Do you think I'm not well aware of what you are trying to do?_**" he asked sternly learning forward, struggling but failing to maintain his calm demeanour. "**_Years of experience inform me of whenever a patient tries to get under my skin. Its a futile effort, Alice!"_**

"Of that I am sure, doctor. In fact, I'd have more chance opening that security door behind you with the key card attached to your belt, using nothing but the _twinkly toes_ on my scantly bare feet!" she shrugged, concededly.

The doctor paused for a moment, glancing casually over his shoulder at said door, before turning back and proceeding to rifle through his collection of notes, pulling out a particular page to read.

"Hmm, let's move on, shall we? Now, in our last session you spoke of '_A threat to our world, from beyond our world!'_; quote unquote. Do you... _still _think this to be true? Are '_they_' still coming for us? Are '_we_' still in danger? Tell me Alice, I want to know. I want... to help."

"You want to help me, Doctor? ...**_Take this damn straight jacket off and let me get outta here and do what I need to do before it's too late!_**" roared Alice.

The doctor, momentarily startled, recoiled backwards, his hand poised over his pager-like panic device, before witnessing Alice simmering back down to resume her regular docile-like state.

"To what... to what... purpose, Alice? What... would that accomplish?"

"Well, for a start... there's an _**itch**_ on my back I've been **_desperate_** to scratch since early this morning?" she mumbled back.

"Ah! Well, sorry Alice, but I'm afraid I just can't do that, much as I'd love to. Remember what happened last time?"

"Right, right... sure... hey, don't sweat it, doc! And look, I'm... I'm sorry _**too**_, you know?" whispered Alice, her gaze lowering towards the ground in mock embarrassment.

'For what?" whispered the doctor, leaning closely towards her.

"For this!"

He never saw it coming, the head-butt, but he sure felt it after it had left. Knocking him backwards onto the floor, it caught him completely by surprise. And why not? Up until a few seconds ago, _**Alice**_ herself never know she was going to do it.

"_Gotta move, gotta move, gotta move!" _she told herself, using her bare feet to skilfully unclip the keycard from the unconscious Dr's belt before hobbling over towards the door. Then, balancing balletically on one leg, she swiped the keycard through the card reader on the lock with the other. The light flashed green.

"So, months of practice have not gone to waste! Must hurry quick, I'm late, I'm late, I'm late!" she hummed, as she made her exit.

Outside in the hallway, she hobbled down the long corridor towards the nearest fire escape door, using the keycard again to gain access to the stairwell. Thats when she saw them, three floors below looking up, two burly orderlies making their way up the steps towards her.

"**There she is! I see her!**" shouted one.

"**Hey, let me handle this! Alice is one of the good uns!**" insisted the other, as both gave chase, clambering over one another to get to her as Alice hobbled up the steps as quickly as she could. Eventually she accessed the roof Of the building, swiftly discovering she had now run out of places to run to.

"_**Run out of places to run too**_**_, 'runner'_!**" shouted a voice behind her, as the orderlies burst out onto the rooftop through the doors. Alice stood on the edge of the building, gazing down almost transfixed at the small patches of lime green turf that made up the hospital grounds below.

"**I told you, Ortise, shut up and let me handle this!**" said the other.

"**Handle my ass, she's a runner! Only one thing to do with runners, and that's tag em! You're just mad cause you're _sweet_ on the little blonde minx!**"

"**Put the damn taser down and gargle you some soap, Ortise. That mouth of yours is filthy!**" replied the other "**Alice, don't do anything crazy...!**"

"**Bad choice of words, Rilley...**" replied Alice, balancing delicately on the ledge of the roof. "**Not much else one can do in a dive like this!**"

"_Ah right, yeah._.. **look, what Im trying to say is... we can still smooth this whole situation over with the old man.**" replied the orderly, calmly. "Say you had one of 'em _**turns**_. It's alright... I get it. Been almost a year now... visits from loved ones becoming increasingly infrequent? Even that... _young_ dude who used to drop by every Tuesday... hasn't popped up in a while."

Alice paused, wrapped up in her own thoughts as the two orderlies crept closer towards her.

"Supposed to be _**married**_ this summer, right?" he continued, getting nearer. "Yeah, I get it... it's **unfair**... life... life's unfair!"

"**Yeah, life's a real kick in the teeth, sometimes!**" growled the other, before raising his taser gun and firing it at Alice. She began to convulse, violently, losing her footing before tumbling over the edge.

"Ortise, what...? **ALICE, NO!**"

But it was too late.

_Down, down, downwards she fell._

_How long for, nobody could tell._

_One thing's for sure, it lasted much longer than it oughta._

_Till 'Splash!', she finally landed in a tub of... bath water?_

_But unfortunate for her, __she had landed face down. _

_And due to her uniquely fashioned restraints, then __proceeded to drown._

_Struggling for air she writhed and wriggled, as the bubbles continued to rise._

_Thinking; ''Surely my last breath is moments away, surely in this moment I'll die!"_

Then suddenly, a lithe arm cloaked in red cloth grabbed hold of the scuff of her straightjacket and hoisted her out of the bath with surprising ease to rest her safely onto the wooden panelled floor with a 'thump'.

"Th-thank you...!" gasped Alice, spitting out half a mouthful of the soapy liquid, as she gazed around her surroundings she saw she was somehow no longer at the hospital, but a room. Old, decrepit, like the inside of an old hut. The walls had been charred as if a fire had swept across its surface. All around her the smell of death was prominent. Confused, her eyes continued to flicker around the room until they rested on...

"R-Red?"

The girl Alice addressed was no more than 5,7" in height and clothed in a dark red leather-strapped torso top with matching skirt and boots, and covered in a scarlet red cloak and hood that seemed to sway almost independently as if it were alive. In her hand, a medium sized picnic basket made of straw, it's hidden contents kept secret thanks to a small folded maroon blanket serving as its lid.

"Red, what's going on in there?" boomed a voice from outside the room. "What's your status?"

"All clear!" replied the scarlet-clad girl. "The entire hut is all clear! Burnt out and reaking of death just like all the others in this village."

"So what's with all the noise in there?"

"Well, Zelly, you'll never guess in a gazillion years who literally just 'dropped in'!"

To be continued...


	2. The Long-tailed Army

**The Long-tailed Army**

Far, far away, in the small peaceful town of Hamlin, a great panic griped the hearts of its inhabitants, causing them to flee from their homes in droves, screaming at the top of their lungs in fear. And what drove them all from their homes?

"RATS! Bleeding rats! Hundreds of em!"

Ah yes, as fate would have it, the village had been ravaged by a large infestation of 'Rattus norvegicus', commonly known as 'rats'. Literally thousands of them poured into their homes from every crack in every wall of every room. They were under the beds, on top of the beds, in the beds. They were in cupboards, draws, wardrobes, shoes, bags, bath tubs. No place was safe.

"They're every bleeding where!"

Eventually the fearful villagers, ousted from their homes by the rodent army, gathered around the open court stage which sat at the centre of the town square, and demanded to see their mayor, Richard Spinless III. But it was his chief advisor, Smuggleworth, who took to the stage to address them. And he did so in his usual uncertain manor.

"Err... ladies... and gentlemen... and children... pets, livestock and so forth... I would implore you all to... try to remain calm...!"

"You try and remain calm with one of em critters crawling around your bits in your under grundies!" shouted an angry townsfolk.

"I... assure you... your trusted the mayor will use every means... at his disposal to rid this peaceful town of ours of this... vermin... once and for all! Sure, it may... take a while... probably the better part of a month or two to be honest, but rest assured-"

"A month or two?" asked one.

"We won't survive a month or two!" screamed another.

"Where are we supposed to sleep in the meantime? What do we eat?" screamed yet another, a wife and mother of two. "Kitchen's full of em! Even found one of the little buggers swimming around in a pot of my homemade chicken soup!"

"That one you needn't worry about, dear. He'll be dead soon enough...!" quiped her portly husband beside her before receiving a quick elbow to his ribs.

"Please, please, the situation will be contained... you all have my word!"

"We don't want your cruddy word! We want to speak to the mayor! Where is'e hiding?"

"Yeah, we want the organ grinder not the monkey!"

"WE WANT THE MAYOR! WE WANT THE MAYOR!"

Eventually the mayor emerged sheepishly onto the stage to address the hostile crowd.

"LISTEN, ALL OF YOU! YOU NEED TO REMAIN CALM FOR YOUR OWN GOOD! As your mayor of the past several years, just like my forefathers before me, I have never let you down once!"

"Well... there was that... one time when-"

"FINE!" said the mayor. "The point being I haven't let you down recently, have I? Which just goes to show how good I'm now getting at it!"

"But we've not experienced anything like this before, though! What makes you so sure?" asked one if the women.

"Heard stories I have, o' this happening to another village four winds east of here." said another. "They tried to contain the situation as well and look where it got em!"

"Where did it get em?" asked another.

"Well... I dunno do I, that's all I heard-But Im pretty sure it wasn't good!" he replied.

"Is that anything to do wid those stories I been hearing about missing children?" asked another.

"AS-I-HAVE-SAID, you can all rest assured I will not... err... rest, until I am... well... assured, that my-your homes have each been culled of this 'unhygienic' rodent evil! Guards, a word with you all!"

As the crowd cheered in response, finally convinced in their leader's display of steely resolve in... well... resolving the matter, the mayor, now seeing he had finally won them over, turned slyly to his chief advisor and whispered;

"Smuggleworth, have my belongings packed, my wife and son dressed and my carriage readied, immediately! We'll take the back road out, so no-one will see us leave."

"Yes m'lord, right away sir!" he replied.

Just then, amidst the sea of gleeful cheers, a lone voice called out to the mayor.

"Perhaps I can be of assistance?" it said. Crisp, bold, the voice was steeped in assurance, as foreign-sounding to those he stood amongst as his rather peculiar attire.

"Pardon me m'lord, but who be that rather peculiar-attired man standing over there?" asked Smuggleworth, his spindly fingers jabbing the air in the direction of the stranger. The rest of the villagers immediately grew silent, backing away as they looked on, pointing and whispering to one another.

The man was tall, taller than most, wearing green leather pants and boots and a bright red and gold striped linen top which seemed to stretch over his wiry frame like a second skin. His large angular hat obscured the view of his face, casting a permanent shadow on everything above his jawline and shrouding his identity in complete mystery.

"You there, who are you?" asked the mayor.

"Ah, yes! 'Who am I?' A wonderfully apt question considering you indeed have no clue as to my identity!

The mayor and Smuggleworth exchanged a clueless glance between them before returning their attention to the stranger.

"But," he continued, "not nearly as potent a question as 'what I can do!'"

"And... what can you do?" asked smuggleworth.

"Ah! Pest control." said the stranger. "I happened to be passing by your wonderful town and couldn't help but overhear the kerfuffle that was afoot!"

The crowd silently scratched their heads, exchanging blank canvas-like expressions with one another.

"Kerfuffle?" re-iterated the stranger, "Brouhaha? Fracas? Fiasco? Disturbance? Commotion...?"

"Ah!" the crowd finally responded, nodding their heads in agreement.

"Anyway," he continued, "I believe I may well be of some assistance to you all. You see, I am somewhat of an expert in this area and can guarantee, for a small price, an immediate end to this nightmarish predicament you have all most unfortunately found yourselves in!"

"Is that so?" commented the mayor, stroking his chin scepticism. "And exactly what is this 'price' you speak of?"

The stranger silently raised his hand and held out a small piece of paper before letting it go. Sudden a gust of wind inexplicably carried it over to were the mayor stood, resting it gently into the palm of his hand. The crowd murmured as they watched.

"Hmm..." said the mayor as he scrutinised the contents with considerable time and care, until;

"Deal!" he announced excitedly, leaping to his feet. "When can you start?"

"Right away!" enthused the stranger, as the same gust of wind suddenly returned, snatching the piece of paper out of the mayor's grip before carrying it up and away into the clear blue sky, until it can no longer be seen.

By the time everyone's eyes had returned to their enigmatic visitor, he was holding what appeared to be a very long and very shiny steel flute. It's polished surface glimmered in the sun's light with unabashed favour. The Piper smiled to himself as all eyes fixated on his every move with sheer fascination.

Slowly, he raised the shiny instrument towards his lips, inhaled deeply, and began to play.

The melody was strange, hypnotic, fleeting and the mood it invoked was one of vibrant rampant playfulness. As the piper's fingers moved increasingly moved with electric speed, becoming almost a blur to the human eye, he slowly turned and made his way out of the village, continuing to play as he walked.

All the villagers could do was look on and watch in utter befuddlement.

"Well, at least he didn't ask you for a downpayment." sided Smuggleworth, with a heavy sigh.

Suddenly, a large rat scampered out of a nearby hut, causing a handful of villagers standing nearby to shriek in terror as they watched it scarper off after the piper. Then another joined it. And another. Then another. Until eventually the entire streets were literally black with thousands upon thousands of rats, marching along in perfect unison out of the village to the melody The Piper's pipe was playing.

"If I didn't see it, I wouldn't believe it!" gasped the mayor.

"Yes, well I saw it and I still don't believe it!" remarked Smuggleworth.

Before long, not a single rat remained in a single home. The streets were bare once more and the piper and his music could no longer be seen or heard.

"THEY'RE GONE! THEY'RE GONE! THE RATS HAVE GONE" chanted the villagers as they erupted into a raucous cheer.

"Cancel that last order, Smuggleworth." whispered the mayor quietly. "Looks like we'll be hanging around this town a little while longer."

To be continued...


	3. Very Bad Deeds

**Very Bad Deeds**

"Biggest pile of codswallop I've ever heard!"' exclaimed Hansel.

"And he's heard his fare share!" added his sister, Gretel. "What, with us having to live with our drunk as a skunk uncle for the past four years!"

It's a bright and sunny morning on the road to Hamlin, where four children, Jack, Hansel, Gretal and Peter are making their way back towards town, having visited a local market on the outskirts of The Wandering Forest.

Jack, having sold his mother's cow for a nothing more than a handful of regular beans, promised by the market tradesman to be so much more, struggles with how he will explain his decision to her upon eventually arriving his home.

That and making his point known to his three friends over which ruler weilded the most powerful army in all the Seven Lands.

"Id have to agree with Hansel!" added Peter. "Everyone knows The Black Queen's Midnight Guard's the meanest army in all the seven lands!"

"Meanest, sure! Biggest? Err.. Hello? The Ice Queen, ruler of the entire Northlands, still wins hands down!" reiterated Jack.

"Queen Ella!" exclaimed Peter. "Last of the 'fair rulers'... her 'Avant Guard' are by far the most skilled warriors to have ever held a weapon and could easily take on both the Black and the Ice Queen's entire battalion themselves!"

"What, just the 12 of em?" asked Hansel.

"Well, sure! Why not?" said Peter.

The group pondered the merits of Peter's bold claim. Aside from Gretel, who sighed to herself, in a dreamy and misty-eyed manor.

"Ahh... 'The Avant Guard'... now there's a hefty horde of hunky heroes if ever there were one! Lancelot, Aramis, Prince Charming... a girl could go weak in the knees just-"

"Somebody pass me a bucket... Im getting weak in me ruddy stomach, with all your idiotic ramblings!" mumbled Hansel, as he feigned throwing up.

"The Red Queen!" Jack suddenly announced, the mere mention of the name bringing an instant solemn mood cloud over the group. "Now there was a feared ruler! Rumoured to have beheaded almost as many of her own loyal subjects as she did her enemies!"

"Worrying emphasis on the word 'loyal' there!" added Hansel.

"By far the most twisted of the bunch." frowned Gretel. "They say she was actually the mother of both The Black and The Ice Queens when they were just maidens! And that their family was separated when their mother's advances towards King Richard were rejected in favour of Queen Ella, herself a lowly housemaid."

"The Queen of Broken Hearts, more like!"

"Leading eventually to her own beheading at the hands of an outlander, or so legend has it!" added Jack, "Now what was her name...?"

"Goldilocks!" said Gretel.

"Nope! She fought an entire family of giant grizzlies...!" said Jack.

"Ha! 'Outlanders', giant bears, bedtime stories to feed the imagination!" scorned Hansel. "One day, little Jack, your gullible wiliness to believe the fantastical is going to be your ultimate undoing!"

"I'm 12, what do you expect?" said Jack.

"I fear that day is already here." frowned Gretel. "When your mother discovers you've traded her prized cow at the market for a handful of ordinary-looking beans... well...!"

"They're not ordinary!" bellowed Jack. "The market tradesman vowed they were 'special'! Containing special... properties...! You all laugh at me now, but you'll see! They'll make my mother rich!"

"Riiiiight...!" said Hansel, stroking his chin sceptically as an awkward silence settled over them all.

"Little Miss Muffet?" blurted out Gretel nervously, attempting to sway the conversation.

"No! That... that wasn't it! She took on giant spiders." grunted Jack.

"Alice!" boomed a sudden towering voice from behind them.

"Yes, that was it! Alice!" exclaimed Jack, before puzzlingly turning around.

Suddenly all four turned to gaze up at the mysterious and tall gaunt figure cast in silhouette by the distant rising sun.

"Ah, to be young again, rife with boundless imagination!" quoted the jovial stranger, as he arched himself forward towards them, revealing his identity in the process.

"It's... its you!" exclaimed Jack, rather excitedly. "The Piper!"

"Indeed it is, my boy, indeed it is!" replied the Piper, "Although technically you're not 'my boy' per se, you understand? It's merely a figure of speech! Besides, I'm hastily sure I'd remember if your mother and I had-"

"Yes! We... understand" frowned Gretel. "But... what are you doing here? It's been 3 days since the infestation. Have the rats returned?"

"I don't know, have the rats returned?" asked The Piper, ominously.

"I don't know, have they?" asked Gretel.

"I don't know, have they?" he asked again. A sinister smile crept across his mouth as an awkward silence intruded. Suddenly, the piper cleared his throat, stood up straight and tipped his enormous hat towards them.

"I am here on strictly business, if you must know! Which, I presume, you must. Hence your enquiring in the initial instance. So, there you go, now you know. Good day, children!"

And with that he toddled off ahead towards the town gates, leaving all four children standing there, befuddled.

As the piper made his way through the busy streets of Hamlin towards The Mayor's rather extravagant-sized home, bemused to himself at how fickle-minded the townsfolk appeared to be. For not one of them sent even a casual glance his way. His face, already a forgotten visage faded from recent memory.

Meanwhile, inside the mayor's grande office, on the top floor of his grande mansion, seated behind his grande office desk, which sat left of the grande window which overlooked the town square, sat the mayor himself, preoccupied with signing off page after page of Damage claims sent in by the people of Hamlin, in the wake of the recent rat invasion.

Suddenly, a knock-knock-knocking on the door, jared him from his train of thought.

"M'lord, sincerest apologies for the disturbance, but you have a most distinguished visitor here to see you!"

"Distinguished? I know no such person. Wait, is it my brother? Here to plead for yet another loan to pay off the last three?"

"No, sir. It's..."

Suddenly, the double doors to the office flew open and in walked the Piper in all his peculiar glory, boldly approaching the Mayor's desk to curtsey respectively before announcing;

"Good day, kind Mayor! I have come for my payment!"

The mayor peeked over his spectacles with furrowed brow.

"Payment? What payment? There was no payment discussed!" he decreed.

"There is... always payment, good mayor!" countered The Piper.

"Well, you have my deepest most sincere gratitude, for what it's worth!" said the mayor, dismissively.

"Ah, yes, well as welcome as that is, truth be told it is not worth the air it took to tell me. Now, due to the rather restrictive constraints of time, I really must persist in having what is owed me!"

"Persist? How dare you, I'm The Mayor?" he roared, as he stood to his feet.

"But sadly not my mayor." insisted the piper.

"A mayor is a mayor...!" quoted the mayor.

"And a deal is a deal!" said the piper

"And for the last time, I remind you there was-no-deal!. The piece of paper you handed me, it was blank! Empty!"

"In life, we often see what we choose to see.

Omitting that which we wish there not to be!" quoted the piper.

"Damn it, man, if you do not leave this office, my house, immediately, I will have you thrown out on your scrawny behind, stripped down to your very bones and fed to the crows from sunrise to sunset!"

The Piper froze for an instant, before gently smiling.

"So, that be a 'No' then? Excellent, excellent! My apologies for disturbing! Good day to you, kind Mayor!"

And with that he slowly backed out of the room, closing the doors behind him, never to be seen again.

The Mayor simply sat there in silence, trying in vain to shake the feeling of dread left behind by his encounter. Somehow he knew the situation was far from over, going over in his mind the entire bizarre conversation from start to finish.

"What an odd, odd man!" he murmured to himself.

"Odder than most!" came a sudden voice, from the office window. The Mayor turned to see yet another man, thin, diminutive in height, dressed in crinkly black and purple leather garments and jet black scraggly hair, perched on the window's ledge like an overgrown crow.

"What is this, carnival day?" asked the Mayor. "Just who are you supposed to now be, and what the blazes are you doing trespassing on my window?"

"Ah, yes 'who am I indeed?'. well my friends call me Rumpel, but you can call me... well, Rumpel. I guess. But that would make you and I friends. Which clearly we are not as we've only just met, so probably best you didn't call me at all"

"Right. Of course." the Mayor pondered to himself for a moment, before shouting;

"Guards!"

"Yes, call your guards, after all, my work here is done.

So I really must be going, as much as its been fun!

I bared witness to the breach of the contract you signed.

Though not with a pen, but a crooked heart and mind."

"GUARDS!" screamed The Mayor yet again.

"For the law of the land, shall forever ring true.

Pay what is due, or a forfeit shall ensue!

Cant think of anything else to say that would rhyme,

So instead i'll bid you adieu, farewell till next time!"

"GUARDS! GET IN HERE NOW!"

And with that the peculiar little man disappeared backwards out of the window, as swiftly as he had appeared and just as the mayor's guards had entered the room.

"Mayor! You called, Sir, are you alright?" they enquired.

"Of course I am, I simply called you in here because I was feeling lonely-NO I'M NOT ALRIGHT, IDIOT! SEARCH THE GROUNDS! KILL EVERYTHING OR ANYONE YOU COME ACROSS THAT SHOULDN'T BE THERE. DO IT NOW! WHY ARE YOU BOTH STILL STANDING HERE? GO!"

Two consecutive peculiar visits on the same day.

What did it mean and what price was there to pay?

And why this feeling of foreboding dread?

As if darkness itself lurked around the corner, desperate to be fed.

Soon nighttime would fall, like a blanket covering the day.

And bedtime abounded for all, no more working, no more play.

Eventually no sound could be heard, every living thing was mute,

Well all but for one sound, the soft melody... of a flute.

To be continued...


	4. The Deafening Silence

**The Deafening Silence**

It was the next morning, and all was quite in the peaceful town of Hamlin. Perhaps, too quite.

The Mayor, asleep in his office, lied sprawled over his desk, a steady stream of saliva poured from the corner of his perked mouth all the way to a tower of paperwork which sat at the edge of the table, causing the ink to bleed out over the stony floor.

He stirred once, then twice, then forced his weary eyes open, glancing around the room like it was the first time he had seen it. Something was wrong, though he couldn't fathom what?

It was at that point that he noticed the dark shadowy figure standing in the open doorway to the office, mumbling to itself. It was Mrs Spinless, his wife. And the words she mumbled?

"He's gone. He's gone. He's gone."

"Who's gone?"

"...He has."

"Who is 'he'?" he asked.

"'He' is... our son, Jeffrey!"

For that was the mayor's name.

"Our son has... gone? Where? How?"

"I... I don't know... I woke this morning and went to his room as always... he wasn't there... he wasn't there... how could I have slept all through the night and not woken once to hear him walking to and fro?"

As she slowly sunk to the ground, clasping her chest in emotional pain, the mayor, still comprehending her words as he stood there watching her, was further startled by the chilling sound of a chorus of screams emanating from the streets.

He ran towards the window and peeped through it out onto the streets below. Mothers and fathers ran from their homes into the streets, crying out for... their children. They were missing. Every one of them.

"No!" he murmured under his breath. "No, no, no, no. It cant be. It...!"

He ran past his wife and out into the streets, calling his son's name at the top of his voice, but his son did not answer.

"Wherever can they be?" screamed a parent.

"They've been taken!" said another.

"By who? Who would do such a thing?"

"It was... The Piper, he did it! It must be him! He was here yesterday!"

"The Piper! Yes... I heard his soft melody as I slept! It was him! But why?"

"The mayor! He didn't pay him what he owed for getting rid a them rats! He's to blame!

"Then the Mayor is to blame! Kill the mayor!"

The mayor froze, rooted to the ground with fear, as a hundred or so vengeful eyes suddenly turned their gaze towards him.

"What? Now w-wait... hold on... there was no payment!" he pleaded, "I would have paid the man if there was, but there wasn't! I promise you..! I'm... the Mayor! I'm your mayor! Err... Guards?"

"Been promising many a thing over many a year, now." replied a villager.

"None of which've seen the light of day!" continued another.

"Begging your pardon, sir, but they have them a fair point!" said the mayor's chief guard, slowly turning towards him readying his spear.

"Ah!" said the mayor. "So, it's come to this, has it? Well then there's only one course of action left for me to take, isn't there?"

Then suddenly he turned and fled towards his grande mansion as fast as his legs could take him, all the while dodging the multitude of rocks, spears and loaves of stale bread hurled in his direction.

Safely, he made it to his home, bolted the door shut and locked himself in his study upstairs. Seeking solace under his desk, he clenched his knees as tightly to his chest as he could and wept, overcome with grief at the loss of his son and all that had happened. And wept. And wept.

Suddenly, without warning, a small log crashed itself through the office window, causing shards of glass to scatter across the stony floor.

"This is it!" he thought to himself. "The end of me has finally come! Well deserved too, if I am to be honest. But then, in truth, I rarely have been honest! Oh, to have a second chance!"

And that's when he heared it, the sound of 'huffing' and 'puffing' drawing ever nearer to his window. The Mayor closed his eyes tightly. His lips quivered and his hands shook as he sat there, waiting.

To be continued...


	5. Little Red Riding

**Little Red Riding**

The town of Hamlin, at the home of the mayor; Jeffrey Spinless III.

"Would've... saved me a lot of trouble... if he'd just left the front door open!" grumbled a young female voice from outside the window, as the huffing and puffing drew nearer. The mayor looked up and saw... a young girl dressed in a scarlet hooded cloak, clambering onto the windowsill.

"Err... hello!" she greeted him, rather awkwardly. "Im looking for the mayor of this town?"

"I am he... though you're a little late, youngling... not so much a mayor anymore, just a... broken shell of a man."

"Late? Ah yes, of course!" she replied. "Apologies, my friends and I ran into a little 'troll trouble' on a bridge four winds east of here. Well I say 'little', truth is the brute was rather substantial in size, making the ardent task of removing it's ghastly head from it's stench-riddled body all the more difficult!"

The Mayor paused for a moment.

"You... expect me... to believe... a child your size was able to best a living breathing troll all by yourself?" he asked.

"No, silly. At least not on this occasion. It was more a collaborative effort. Zelly had it distracted, Alice came up at the rear and I just... look, forget that! I'm looking for a man."

"I... thought you were looking for the mayor? he asked.

"I was looking for the mayor to ask him about a man." she replied with a frown.

'Which man? Who... who are you?"

"I am Red, aka; Red Hood, aka; Little Red, aka; Little Red Riding Hood. I'm sure you've heard of me?"

"No." said the Mayor. "Can't say I have."

"Hmm. Ex-member of The SisterHood? Peacekeepers of the Southland forests of Zendor for the last 3 generations? Heard of them, I am certain!"

"Ah... nope! Can't say that, either."

"Well, this is awkward! Reminds me of the time I greeted a bearded dwarf as 'sir' on the road to Wonderland, only to discover it was female. And a mother of two, at that! How peculiar?"

"Fascinating." muttered the mayor as he pinched himself repeatedly.

"Fascinating?" she said. "Did you know it takes the average Stinger Wasp an entire year to mate, yet only a solitary day to both fall pregnant and give birth? Now that's fascinating!"

"I'm... I'm delirious... I must be!" cried the mayor, bursting into hysterical laughter.

"Ah, Mayor Delirious, a pleasure to meet you!" replied the girl, with a curtsey. "Now, back to the fiend in question. Tall, spindly fellow, pinstriped suit, real peculiar air of self-worth about him, now surely you have seen him?"

The Mayor's eyes narrowed, as he clenched his fists. The young girl, seeing this, skipped over towards the broken window and leant out of it.

"Yep, he was here all right!" she shouted down bellow.

"Ask him 'how long ago'?'" a voice replied.

Meanwhile the mayor, still unsure wether he was in fact still asleep, took note of the peculiar-looking 'rope' that was tied to the log, that was hurled through the window.

"Err... young girl,... Is that... is that 'human hair' attached to that there log?" he marvelled, pointing towards the lump of wood wrapped in golden-like tresses.

"Oh, and hurry it up, will ya Red? This giant dog of yours is getting restless. Growling, sniffing and stuff...!"

"For the last time, IT'S A WOLF!" shouted the scarlet girl, in frustration.

"Whatever, Red! Anyways, looks like it's picked up a scent of some kind. Could be trouble heading our way, could be breakfast cooking in one a them there houses. Either way we need to be making our move, now!" urged the voice.

"Moving takes planning and we cannot plan until we have both established and distilled all relevant information pertaining to this circumstance!" mumbled the scarlet girl to herself as the mayor just watched in awe. "Why does she not understand? Now, where was I? Ah yes, mayor Delirious, what can you tell me about the fiend thatvis The Piper?"

"Like...?"

"Was he traveling alone? What type of melodies did he play? Delicate like the wings of a humming bird, or loud and obtrusive like an Agearian winter storm? I'm favouring the later."

"I... I don't remember. Who... where you talking to... out there?"

"Mayor Delirious, I need you to focus! Now tell me, what-did-the-Piper-do?"

"The children. He took... the children. Like the rats before. He took them all... including my son!"

"I see. That would explain the rather sombre mood your townsfolk have adopted." noted the girl. "And this happened when?"

"Last night as we all slept. He came to me yesterday... said I owed him. But I... never... I give you my word, I never...!"

"C'mon, Red!" shouted the voices again. The girl sighed heavily, before continuing.

"Your village, mayor, is the eighth in as many weeks, my friends and I have encountered since docking at the Westland's east shore river, and yet the first to remain still standing? Curious. Either good fortune has shone over you and your fair village like the preverbal raincloud or...!"

"'Good... fortune' you say? GOOD FORTUNE?" the mayor rose to his feet, his eyes bulging with rage.

"Naturally a simply figure of speech, albeit completely misplaced." replied the girl. "Point being, why?"

"Why what...?" asked the mayor.

"Unless...?"

"Unless what?"

"Can it be?"

"CAN WHAT BE?"

"By the way, did you know ogres have an extreme aversion to human secretion? It's genetic. Burns like the volcanic fires of mount Dooku, apparently. Fascinating."

"RED! Your dogs doing an awful lot of barking down here. Something's definitely up!" shouted the outside voice.

"Thank you mayor, you have been most helpful. My time here in now spent."

The peculiar girl curtseyed politely, before turning to make her way back towards the shattered window.

"W-wait!" pleaded the mayor. "You say this... has happened before?"

"As surely as it will happen again, unless it is stopped." said the girl. "Farewell, good mayor."

"W-wait! My son... what happens to him? Is... is he still... alive?" he asked.

"Unclear. But possible, yes! In each case, the burnt, maimed, dismembered and disfigured bodies of men, women and livestock were all accounted for. But the children... curiously, the children were always... absent. Which bodes well for your son, though not so much for you, Im afraid. Good day!"

She turned back towards the window.

"Wait! So there's a chance? A chance my boy is... still alive?" asked the mayor. His soulful eyes glazed over as tears began to fall once again.

"RED, WE GOT COMPANY! BIG COMPANY, UP ON THE HORIZON! Get you're 'skirt tail' down here, pronto!" shouted the voice.

"And grab us a sandwich or something on the way down too, will ya? We're famished!" shouted another.

"Hmmm... It's as I feared." said the scarlet girl, hoisting the log up off the floor before hurling it back out of the window. "Best you remain here. Keep all doors and windows locked. Ah... aside from this 'broken' one, of course. Sincere apologies for that, by the way."

"RED?"

"Retreat back beneath the safe confinement of your desk, mayor. There are far worse dangers than 'angry villagers' and 'intruding rodents' present in your town this day!" announced the girl.

"Like... like what?" asked the wide-eyed mayor, his voice quivering with fear.

"Like me." smiled the girl before suddenly backflipping through the window, down towards the streets below.

To be continued...


	6. It's all Ogre

**It's all Ogre**

Having met with the Mayor of Hamlin, the little scarlet clad girl leapt back through the window from whence she came, in response to the call from her friends.

_Like a hawk descending upon its prey,_

_she swooped all the way to the ground,_

_her cloak caressing the wind like a sail,_

_to gracefully land without sound._

"Show off!" mumbled **Rapunzel**, feigning a yawn. She was dressed in a green and yellow-stripped outfit, her endless hair braided into a single ponytail, subsequently attached to the log that had been sent through the mayors window. Around her waist a large bladed object hung.

"Kinda funny though, I see nothing resembling a boiled egg, much less a chicken, in either of those hands!" remarked Alice, she herself outfitted in a makeshift dress fashioned from her hospital garments.

"I was in the Mayor's office, Alice, not his kitchen!" sighed Red, as she silently landed, immediately patting her giant white wolf, Snowfall, who liked at her hands affectionately.

Suddenly the wolf began to growl as the screams of panicked villagers filled the streets, as three abnormally large figures loomed over a nearby hill, their appearance obscured into grotesque, silhouetted shapes, by the glimmering backdropped sun that rose behind them.

"_**Death is amongst us, woe is our once peaceful town of Hamlin!**_" screamed the villagers, flailing their hands in the air as they ran.

"A tad melodramatic." noted Rapunzel, nonchalantly gathering the last remaining excess of her hair before continuing to untangle it from the log.

"You kidding me? They're petrified, Zelly!" said Alice. "We need to-"

"**No!**" said Red, sharply. "**WE do not!** The Piper's not more than a day-day and a half away, at most. If we leave immediately we have a good chance at-"

"Abandoning these helpless villagers, to fend for themselves? Surely, you can't be serious?" asked Alice

"I am serious. And don't call me 'Surely'!" replied Red, sternly. "Lest I remind you both, the fate of more than one small village is at stake here?"

"We leave em now, Red, we might as well cut the poor buggers down ourselves. It'll be more merciful. You've seen what was left of the other villages. That's a 'clean up crew' up there on the hori-"

"**Alright, alright!**" conceded Red. "**If it will stop you both from flapping those contentious lips of yours like it was a royal right, then fine! But know every second we waste here, that the real monster is getting further away!**"

"Then we do this clean and quick!" said Alice, drawing her sword. "Like always!"

"Funny, I remember the last one being slow and rather messy!" replied Rapunzel, now tying the ends of her extremely long tresses to the enormously sized dagger which hung around her waist.

"Take note, my friends, of their size and shape... these are '**Ogres**' we face, not the likes of simple trolls. And three of them at that. This may take longer than we dare spare... unless... wait! Zelly, Sherwood Forest is nearby, correct?"

"Several winds in the opposite direction, so? ...No!" groaned Rapunzel. "No, no, no... we don't need that-that egotistical, tree-running, shaft-shooting, insult-spewing...!"

"A tad 'melodramatic', Rapunzel." smirked Red. "Truth is we'll need help if we are to make good on our time"

She whistled loudly and instantly the wolf ran to her side. Then, taking a shiny red apple from her basket, she held it in her hand as it snapped it up in its jaws as she whispered gently; "Robin!"

"Who's Robin?" Alice asked Raounzel.

"Who indeed." mumbled Rapunzel, as the wolf darted off towards the forest at the opposite end of the village, as Red and her two armed had walked up ahead, slowly moving through the streets addressing the villagers who looked on at her in fear as she approached the three ogres in the distance.

"**EVERYONE, BACK INTO YOUR HOMES! LOCK YOUR DOORS AND STAY BEYOND SIGHT! WE THREE WILL TAKE IT FROM HERE!"**

"**Err... yeah! What she said!**" added Alice, rather dubiously, as began fanning her nose. "Okay, seriously? That is one callous stench those three hombres are giving off up there. Closer we get, the more _dizzy_ I'm getting!"

"Mask your nose, outlander!" smirked Rapunzel. "And try not to breath it in, eh?"

"**Look alive, people, it begins**." announced Red, drawing an enormous-sized axe out of the small straw basket, before tossing it aside.

For indeed, up ahead of them the three Ogres that had stood silently for so long, slowly began lumbering their way into the village, revealing their hideously terrifying green-skinned visages for all to see.

The second and shortest of the three had a huge stomach and a great grizzly beard. limping steadily behind the other two, it wore no armour visible but had two large blades attached to long thick chains that were strapped to either arm. It had a large leather strap tied over its eyes and it sniffed the air profusely as it walked, guided by its scent which replaced its sight. A long thick ponytail trailed its every movement as it walked.

"**Fresh meat for the takings, brothers!**" it growled.

The tallest of the three stood 2 metres higher than the other two, coated in armour made from pieces of Lemongrass Rhino-hide, a rare, near-impenetrable, skin of an even rarer animal. Extremely heavy in weight, it made the ogre's movement slow and all the more cumbersome. In its enormous hands it wielded a giant axe.

"**Pretty meat! One for each of us!**" it laughed.

The last was medium in size. It had a bald tattooed head, wrapped in a long tattered grey cloak. Strapped to its back were several tall metal spears, one of which it took into its hands, ready, as it quickened its pace ahead of its two brothers and towards our heroic three. Immediately, it hurled the giant spear towards them with all its might.

"**SPEAR!**" warned Red, urgently, as she skilfully arched her back, to slide on her knees harmlessly beneath the spear's path, before flipping back onto her feet to continue her run toward the monster.

"**Little red bird is fast!**" said the disgruntled brute.

"**It's 'Riding Hood'!**" shouted Red, as she leapt in the air towards it, axe in hand. But the monster swung its arm, striking Red and sending her into a nearby pile of hay.

"**Red!**" screamed Rapunzel, as she swung her bladed hair at the brute, cutting it several times across its arms and face as it screamed frustratingly in agony. "**Now, Alice!**"

Immediately, Alice ran between the ogre and its chain-wielding brother, as it swung its blade at her. But she leapt over it, narrowly missing its edge, as it sunk into the back of the fellow ogre.

"**Ahhh! Idiot!**" it growled in response. "**Look where you are swinging that stupid thi-!**"

But that was all the distracted beast spoke, as it's head spun balletically in the air, before landing with a thud on the ground, curtesy of Little Red's axe.

"**Little Red bird took brother's head!**" growled the remaining two enraged ogres.

"**For the last time, it's... ah, forget it!" **sighed Alice, loudly.

"**Little red bird die slowly!**" It growled as it stormed towards her swinging it's mighty axe at her head, repeatedly. Red spun and leapt, gracefully avoiding its deadly blade as she swung her own weapon at its limbs.

Meanwhile Alice and Rapunzel danced around the chain-wielding ogre, narrowly avoiding the path of its blades as it frustratingly stumbled towards them. Alice rolled across the ground, striking it across its leg causing it to fall on one knee, as Rapunzel turned her gaze back towards Red, rapidly running out of room to manoeuvre as the axe-wielding ogre closed in on her.

Spinning her blade-strapped hair above her head, Rapunzel released it towards the back of the ogre's head, but it spun around and caught it in its hand with alarming speed, before hoisting Rapunzel off of the ground and swinging her into directly into Red, sending both of them crashing into a nearby wall.

"**No!**" screamed Alice, before being knocked aside by her own adversary.

"**Slice her in two!**" bellowed the axe-wielding ogre, giddily, as it pulled Rapunzel, screaming, steadily towards it. The other ogre licked its lips ecstatically as it hobbled over to stand by its brother, holding its blade high above its head, ready to bring it down as Rapunzel's body drew nearer still.

Just then, Alice sprung to her feet and ran towards her helpless friend, leaping into the air to bring her own sword down upon her.

"**No, no, wait, don't!**" cried Rapunzel, as the ogre gave one final tug of her hair. Alice brought her sword down, slicing off her hair mere inches above her head, as the ogre's bellowed in disappointment.

"My... hair...?" whimpered Rapunzel, grasping a handful of strands in her trembling hands.

Exhausted, Alice fell to her knees, sword by her side, as the two ogre's lumbered their way towards her.

"**Prepare to be feasted upon, little one**." they said. "**Alive... and slowly... over a period of years**."

"Go ahead!" mumbled Alice. "Hope I... give you both... food... poisoning."

Just then, an arrow, swift and true, pierced the armoured Ogre's side directly between the plates where it was most vulnerable.

"**Arrgh!**" it screamed. "**Who dares?**"

"**I do!**" cried a forth voice from the other side of the village.

The ogre's looked over to see a hooded figure, clad in green, riding the great white wolf as it repeatedly fired arrows from a large arched bow with incredibly fluid speed, each embedded into the small cracks in the ogre's body from its feet up to its chest. "Now!" cried the figure.

Alice leapt to her feet, sword in hand, and seizing the opportunity, quickly ran up each of the embedded arrows as if they were steps until she reached the highest one, before launching herself high into the air.

"_**Off with you're head!**_" she cried, before brining her sword down with all her might.

'_Thud, thud, thud.' Rolled the Ogre's head._

_Two were down, now only one remained instead._

The last Ogre growled rabidly, swinging it's chain blades wildly as our four warriors circled it repeatedly.

"**Give it up, beautiful!**" advised Alice, twirling her sword around her fingers. "**You're outnumbered, outsmarted... out-dressed... have I... missed anything out**?"

"How about 'out of time'? As in 'we are'?" said Red. "Let's kill the mule and be on our way. Thanks for joining us, Robin!"

"Insulted y'all started without me!" replied the cloaked stranger, drawing its bow for a final time.

"Wait! We can question it. Find out what it knows." suggested Alice. "Could shave a couple of days off our travel?"

"Agreed! **Now hear us, brute.**" Red addressed the ogre. "**Only two paths now lie before you. Drop your weapons and surrender, or we shall force you to drop your weapons and surrender!**"

Alice glanced at her quizzically.

"**Alright, I agree, one sounds suspiciously like the other.**" continued Red. "**Therefore I must now inform you, monster, that there is but one path before you. Do you surrender?**"

The Ogre's eye's widened, as they darted from left to right, for suddenly it saw it's four protagonist were not alone. The entire village, spurned on by the display of bravery by our heroes, had come out of their homes, armed with whatever makeshift weapons they could find; pitchforks, hammers, spades, stale loaves of bread, whatever was to hand they brought. The Ogre dropped it's heavy weapons to the floor, and bowed it's head in submission, as the people of Hamlin cheered and cheered, in celebration that their town was now safe.

To be continued...


	7. And then there were 4

...**And then there were 4**

As the town continued to show their appreciation to our quartet of likely heroes, having narrowly avoided almost certain destruction at the hands of the ogres, the mayor, along with Smuggleworth following closely behind, edged his way through the crowd to express his gratitude in person.

"You... you have saved us! All of us! We owe you our lives in eternal gratitude! Tell me, how can we repay you?"

"Your finest ale in your largest mug!" said the stranger.

"A decent burger would be nice." groaned Alice. "Flame grilled if poss-"

"No payment needed, Mayor!" interrupted Red.

"Speak for yourself, dear girl, I'm parched!" said the stranger. "That mutt of yours rides like the proverbial wind in Autumn. Barely catch my breath!"

"And grateful I am for your assistance, old friend." said Red. "Though I was... expecting you to bring a little... company?"

"Ah, yes, well the Merry Men are on something of a... hiatus... of late. I myself was in the midst of running a personal... errand when that overgrown hound of yours sniffed the likes of me out. Besides, we couldn't all very well fit on the damn thing, now could we?"

"For the last time, it's not a... oh, forget it!" said Red with a hump, before skulking off to retrieve her basket.

"So, your the mysterious bowman?" said Alice

Hardly. said the stranger, lifting their hood to reveal... a girl, with long brown hair bunched in tight small curls, her attire styled in a collection of several shades of green leather and suede.

"Ah!" exclaimed Alice. "Okay... bow-woman... bow... girl... bow... sorry, what do I call you?"

"I am Robin of The Hood." announced the stranger, proudly.

"'Robin-Hood'?" said the alarmed mayor, leaning his ear. "I've heard many a fantastical story about the exploits of the great outlaw Robin Hood. But I... well, I thought he was a man!"

"You say you thought I was a man?" asked Robin.

"N-no, I-I thought Robin Hood was a man." replied the mayor, rather nervously.

"But I am Robin Hood!" replied Robin.

"And clearly not a man!" observed Smuggleworth.

"Y-yes, I know this now! Thank you, Smuggleworth!"

"Shall we be on our way, then, ladies?" suggested Red, tired of Robin's teasing mind games, as the listening crowd giggled.

"What about our children?" called out a voice. "Have we all so soon forgotten them?"

As they all turned and the crowd parted, an elderly woman crept forward holding something in the palm of her outstretched trembling hands.

"You all know me as widow Catherine. Many of you I've supplied milk, cheese and other dairy products over many years, as such is the business I run. But that business has been slow of late and I sent my boy Jack to the market yesterday to fetch me a price for my finest cow, Daisy. But all he returned with was... a handful of these sodding beans!

I was... angry... at Jack. Said things to him no young 'un should ever hear his mother say. Things I... I'm ashamed of saying. Things... I won't be able to take back... if he, along with his younger sister, Jill, aren't found. Don't you see, if you can't bring em back to me... I'm no better than if them Ogres had struck me down dead with their own hands! For I'd be... just as dead inside.

Find my young uns. Promise... promise me you will... for the sake of me broken heart. Find em and bring em back!"

As the widows words melted into the hearts of all who listened, sorrow again overcame the village as its people began to weep once more. All in remembrance of those young who had been taken from them, so unceremoniously. But none more so than the mayor, convinced he alone was to blame.

"Perhaps... it's time you shared with me what the blazes is going on?" whispered Robin in the ears of her scarlet friend.

"I... I've found him, Robin. After all these years searching, I finally tracked down that... that monster!"

"I see!" said Robin, nodding her head approvingly. "Good. Very good! By... 'him' you mean... 'him'?"

"Well... yes!" replied Red. "Unless, of course, your 'him' is a different 'him' to the 'him' I am referring to?"

"Ah-ha! Right, right...!" said Robin, her eyes narrowing.

Then both girls stared at each other in befuddled silence. Until...

"The Piper, right?"

"Yes, Robin! It's The Piper! Of course it's The Piper! Who else could I possibly be referring to with such disdain and utter contempt, if not he? Of all the-"

"Red! You might want to come over here and hear this!" shouted Alice, who was standing before the surrender ogre, itself surrounded by two dozen 0f the mayors guards. Red and Robin wandered over to there location, Robin, with an arrow positioned readily in her bow.

"Tell her." said Alice. "Tell her what you just told me!"

"I... apologize." said the ogre in its gruff voice. "My bowels are full from a night of cattle feasting and I am now in terrible need of taking a du-"

"No!" exclaimed Alice. "No, no, not that, you green-skinned, overgrown, disgusting... the other thing you mentioned! About the children...?"

"Oh! Yes, I apologize." said the ogre. "Yes, the children... they have been taken by the tall man to the highest mountain that peeks on the other side of the great forest!"

"To what purpose?" asked Red.

"Not known." replied the ogre.

"Not good enough!" replied Alice. "What else? Is there anything else you can tell us? Anything at all?"

"Well..." contemplated the ogre, "In winter, it's said the cocoa bird fly south in packs of 12 for 3 month hibernation period. Many believe this to be-"

"About the children, you buffoon!" yelled Red. "Anything more you can tell us pertaining the disappearance of the children?"

"Oh! Yes, I apologize." said the ogre. "Yes, the children... they have been taken by the tall man to the highest-"

"You've told us this already!" sighed Red, with frustration. "Oh for the love of-"

"Can we kill it now?" asked the mayor.'

"Yes, kill it! Kill it! Kill it!" shouted the crowd in frenzied unison, their faces contorted with anger, bitterness and rage, seething with an unquenchable thirst for vengeance.

"No! Wait, please! You spare ogre's life... ogre give you that life. Swear loyalty. Help little people build wall around village. Protect people from danger. Ogre promise this. On ogre's life."

The mayor contemplated the sorrowful brute's words, as all eyes in the village rested on him.

"Very well, ogre." he conceded. "But if this is a trick...?"

"No trick. Ogre promise. Ogre loyal to kind little man."

"Your call, mayor Delirious!" said Red. "As for me and mine, we will now be on our way. Good day to you all!"

As Red turned to leave, the widow stopped her, thrusting the beans her son had given her into her hands. "All I could find from what I tossed into the garden. When you see my son, give him these and tell him... please, tell him... I..."

"I will." said Red, knowingly, "You can all rest assured, we will get to the bottom of this! Have hope, and let it cancel out your despair!"

And with that, the villagers watched her turn away and set off towards the distant forest, along with her wolf and three companions, Alice, Robin and a silently embittered Rapunzel, still grasping the remaining strands of her shorn hair.

As they reached the edge of the forest and stopped, Alice, looking back at Rapunzel following far behind them, leant over and whispered to Robin.

"Hey, what's with Zelly? She's been awfully quite since the battle ended. Usually she's... well... just awful!"

"Ah, fear not." replied Robin. "She will forgive you. Once her hair has eventually grown fully back, of course!"

"Forgive... what? I saved her life!" whispered Alice. "Had I not done what I did- !"

"I know." whispered Robin. "Red knows. And she knows! Which is why, in time it will all be forgotten! Now, let us focus on the great task that lies ahead of us. Many have entered The Wandering Forest only to never be seen again!"

"Robin, my gratitude for your timely assistance, old friend!" announced Red. "But I cannot allow you to-"

"I'm going with you!" said Robin, boldly. "Having served the good folk of Sherwood for so long as a symbol of hope against tyranny, I cannot allow this evil to get away with this. Those woman's words... compel me to do so."

"And an honor it will be to have you travel by my side again, old friend." said Red, as she touched her shoulder affectionately. "Now, into the woods we go people! But be alert. There are far worse things than trolls and ogres lurking within!"

"Ah... far what... did she say... what...?" said Alice.

To be continued...


	8. The Inn Keeper's Inn

**The Inn Keeper's Inn**

_Deep within the woodland terrain, steeped in reams of mystery and unseen danger, our four heroins continue onwards with their valiant quest as the sun continued to bathe them in relentless and unforgiving heat._

_As they pushed and cut their way through the shimmering green foliage that seemed to grow denser the further in they journeyed, each was resolute that until the fiend Piper had been found, apprehended and brought to justice, and all missing children returned to their loved ones, not one shall even consider momentarily stopping to take rest._

"Ok, don't know about you three, but I'm a little on the exhausted side, not to mention, royally famished! If I don't stop to grab a bite to eat, and quick, I will not be held responsible for my actions! Just... putting it out there!"

_Everyone but Alice, that is._

"Had you both not insisted we stop to rescue the mayor and his town, we would have gained much needed ground between us and our quarry!" replied the disgruntled Red.

"And I would still have been _insatiably_ hungry! I think your missing the point, somewhat...?" said Alice.

"Does she always talk this much?" asked Robin.

"Only every other second of every other day!" mumbled Rapunzel to herself.

"And I think I preferred it better when _**you**_ were giving me the silent treatment!" said Alice.

"_**And I think I preferred it better when I actually had hair. Long and glistening, the envy of all women! But you very well saw to that, didn't you?**_"

"**Well, well, didn't take long for that to all come out, did it**?" said Alice. "**Or perhaps you'd prefer to have been dear? Or worse, an ogre's early morning snack before breakfast?**"

"**I... had it all under control, Outlander! Should learn to mind your own affairs.**" she moaned.

"Outlander? Wait, your '_**the**_' Alice?" asked Robin in wonderment. "_The stranger who came from beyond the great border?_"

"Ha! Pitty there is nowt great _**about**_ her!" mumbled Rapunzel.

"_Excuse me, 'fan moment' here! Please be respectful!_" chimed Alice.

"You! You fought in The Battle at Chess Hill... defeated the Red Queen... took out her monstrous brute of a pet... all in one fell swoop?"

"Hey, what can I say? To me, it was **Tuesday**!" shrugged Alice, jovially, as the others stopped and looked at her with puzzled expressions.

"Does she always talk this peculiarly?" asked Robin.

"Only every other second of every other day!" said Red, with a smile, before catching sight of a diet ant tower of smoke. "Look, smoke up ahead. Its either a tavern where we shall find food and short stay, or..."

"...another village being burnt to a crisp!" mumbled Rapunzel.

Eventually our heroes arrived at the source of the smoke to indeed find a homely-looking tavern named 'The Inn Keeper's Inn'. Deciding not to pass up a good opportunity they proceed to venture inside, pushing aside its heavy wooden doors. Immediately the were greeted by a friendly elderly Doorman offering to show them to a table.

"_Afternoon, y'all, the name's Finn! Welcome to The Inn Keepers Inn and let the good times begin!_"

"Nice. Rhymes." deadpanned Alice. "Table for four?"

"Sure thing!" he replied. "Only, the mutt will have to stay outside! House rules, you see?"

"It's not a... forget it!" said Red. "Fine, Snowfall; Guard!" The wolf slinked itself comfortably across the door mat.

Inside, the tavern looked a lot larger than it did from the outside. The walls were made up of large tree trunks bound together with the strongest of vines. At the centre a large log fire burned, it's smoke rising up and out of the cavern's tall brickwork chimney. Around it, half a dozen round wooden tables scattered sporadically, only half of which were occupied by traveling guests. Towards the back was a small bar, and behind it a burly bartender with notably large bushy eyebrows, his dark shiny eyes watched them like a hawk, as he continued to clean each mug with sincerest affection.

Once seated at their table, Robin was the first to make her order.

"Your finest ale in your largest mug, if you please?"

"We only serve water here, miss." replied the host. "Payment's double if you want it clean. Triple if you want it in a clean mug!"

"Do you at least serve food?" asked Alice.

"Chicken!" replied the host. "That and today's mystery special!"

"Ohh... and what's the mystery special today, then?"

"Fresh chicken." replied the host.

"Right! _**Fresh**_ chicken it is, then, times four and with a large **_clean_** jug of _**clean**_ water!" sighed Red, as the host nodded in acknowledgement and then left.

"Hmmm... Not entirely sure what manner of good times can roll from slurping 'water' all day?" bemoaned Robin, to herself.

"All the better for keeping our minds clear on the task ahead." replied Red. "Now, the _ogre_ mentioned that the _Piper_ mentioned the involvement of a 'King'! We need to discover which from the many four lands that is!"

"Agreed! How many _are_ there?" asked Alice.

"At one time, not so long ago, many more than could be named or counted." sighed Robin. "But then the 'Amazonian Wars' happened and everything... changed."

"The... Amazonian Wars?"

"A torrid time of love, jealousy and revenge, Alice." explained Alice. "A time that changed the very landscape of our lands."

"A dark time that gave birth to **The Queen of Hearts** herself, among other such noted evils. It saw the decline of **The Sisterhood**... the rise of **The Black Queen** of the South... the death of **The Fisher King's** bride... the list goes on and grows darker still." explained Red.

"But it also brought us all much good, such as Ella, the glass-slippered princess who became queen! Some say the fairest of them all." noted Robin.

"That was once said of Snow White?" sighed Red.

"ONce, yes, till she abandoned her throne in search of... herself. She took the death of her several dwarf guards decidedly hard and was never seen since. Some say she's out there, somewhere, crazy, roaming the icy badlands of the north a complete psychotic loon!"

"A pity. Rarely hears of as fierce and fearless a warrior as she." said Robin. "Would have been a handy ally."

"Such are these times, old friend. You either die a hero, of live long enough to see yourself become the villain."

"The Dark Knight!" exclaimed Alice. "Batman! I know that... quote... _forget it._"

"Your food is ready, ladies!" announced the host, gleefully as he skilfully balanced all four plates, a large jug of water and four cups on his hands, arms and head, much to the girls wonderment.

"I was a court jester for King Midas himself, many ages past!" he explained. "Saved what I could in tips to start up this little... cozy shack!"

The girls glanced at each other at the mention of the kings name, then collectively shook their head at the absurdity of the idea before silently tucking into their meal. A short time later, the meal finished, Red paid the man with a few coins from her basket and led the girls out through the front door, only for them all to discover...

"**Whoa**!" exclaimed Alice, as she gazed all around her. "**The entire forest is coated in thick snow! Thats... well, that's impossible! We were only inside for a short**-"

"Such are the wonders of the Wandering Forest." explained Robin, pulling her hood over her head and feeding the wolf scraps she had saved from her meal.

"Of course. Makes so much sense now. Thank you." said Alice, shivering from the cold air.

"They say that at night... when all is silent and still... you can almost hear the trees moving around, wandering from place to place, talking with each other." whispered Red, pulling her own hood up. "Then, morning returns and all appears normal. But look closer and you will see, the very path that led you in, is now no more."

"**_Nothing but spooky yarns, cooked up by over-bearing mothers and fathers, to scare their younglings into keeping out of these parts._**" dismissed Robin.

"Perhaps." said Red. "But the tracks that led us to this tavern have now been covered, leaving us something of a dilemma."

"That very tall tree in the distance." noted Alice, gazing into the horizon. "Don't remember it being there before, but perhaps... if we can get to the top of it we can get a clear view of where the piper has taken the children?"

"Agreed. But how do we get there?" asked Robin. "Sherwood, I know like the bottom of my foot, but this forest?"

"Hand." giggled Alice. "It's '_know it like the back of your hand'_!'"

Robin looked blankly at Red, who in turn looked blankly back at Robin, before both turned to look blankly back at Alice.

"That's the most ridiculous thing Ive ever heard!" said Robin.

"Why would anybody willingly say such a thing?" added Red.

"Forget it." sighed Alice, as the two continued to grumble.

"**Woodlanders**." muttered Rapunzel out loud, half to herself. "Few know this forest better than they do. We just need to find the location of their village. Simple."

"Then somehow convince one of them to aid us. Not so simple. Their extreme hatred of all outsiders is well documented. Chances are, they'd kill us on sight!" warned Robin.

"There is... one." said Red. "We were... friends... once... an age back."

"Will he help us?" asked Alice.

"'She'. And to be honest, I am most unsure."

To be continued...

Sent from my iPad


	9. The Prince & the Tracker

**The Prince &amp; the Tracker**

Swiftly they fled.

Through the thickly dense forest, baked in an infernal heat from the overlooking sun, they fled. Like four deers, hastily, yet gracefully moving amongst the trees, trailed by an unseen assailant. A silent hunter stalking its prey... only... not _**quite**_ so silent.

"**What IS that noise?**" asked Alice, trying to keep up with her fellow companions as the peculiar sound of buzzing grew louder as it did nearer. "**And someone explain to me why are we're running from it instead of turning around and fighting?**"

"**In case it draws others to our location! If a nest is nearby, they're sheer numbers would have us overwhelmed in no time!**" explained Red, exhaustively.

"**Fine! And another thing, how come the weather in this jungle keeps changing so freaking extremely? The tropics one minute, snowing the next, then-!**"

"**JUST KEEP MOVING, ALICE!**" screamed Robin, "**We need to find the nearest stream or lake, preferably the later. It's our only chance, those things hate seawater!**"

"**WHAT?**" yelled Alice, still struggling to keep up. "**What things hate seawater?**"

"**Just keep-**"

"**Running, yes, I heard you the second time!**" exclaimed Alice, as they hastily slid over a large moss-covered rock onto the large pile of leaves bellow.

"**Gross! I've got green goey stuff in by butt!**" moaned Alice.

"**Yeagermoss! Must mean there's a lake nearby! Quick, double your paces!**" urged Robin.

"**Double...? What do you think I'm doing here, taking a morning stroll?**" shouted Alice, as Robin sprinted ahead towards a large thickly dense moss-covered bush only to dive right through it.

"**Where... where did she go?**"

"**We're about to find out! Follow our lead, Alice, and be sure to take the deepest of breaths!**" urged Red, before leaping through the bush herself, followed by Rapunzel.

"**Be sure to what... wait, what? Take a what? Times like this I really miss being locked up in a-!**"

Her voice trailed off as she leapt through the bush, taking in as deep a breath as she could, just as she felt a brushing of wind behind her as she emerged from the other side into... a large lake.

With a splash she landed, before slowly begining to sink into its murky depths.

Then foolishly, she glanced back upwards towards the surface, overwhelmed with curiosity as to what it was that had followed them all for so long and so relentlessly, only to behold a large shadowy circular mass hovering patiently over the water's surface. Waiting.

"What in this crazy world is that?" she asked, forgetting for the briefest of moments she was in fact submerged under water. Immediately she choked for air as the water began to fill her lungs. Instantly clambered upwards, towards the surface in panic, towards the enigmatic object, and surely, she thought, to her doom.

She began to think about her life. The institution she was sent to for so many years by her own family, having tried to share with them her prior adventures in Wonderland. The engagement to her childhood sweetheart, unceremoniously broken off, as his fleeting visits to see her were reduced to a handful of generic letters posted to her quarterly.

And it saddened her. For as bitter as she felt, as betrayed, she missed them. And she would never get a chance to see them to tell them that.

As her head lifted up out of the water, her mouth gasped desperately for air. Then her eyes saw 'it' in all its enormous horrific glory, hovering balletically towards her.

It's large dense body, at least 5 feet in both width and depth, was coated in a furry midnight-blue carpeted skin which seemed to glimmer beneath the sunlight. Half a dozen spindly legs coated in razor-like talons protruded out from its body and dangled in the air, motionlessly. And it's eyes, all four of them, reflected her own face perfectly off of each shimmering black shiny surface, as it gazed hypnotically at her as It's large flapping translucent wings, caused a dozen rippling rings to invade the lake's surface about her.

Unaware to Alice, as she continued to stare at it, half in wonder, the creature was positioning its large 3ft sting, ready to strike at her in the smallest of moments, as it positioned itself over her head.

Suddenly, out of the water behind it, came Rapunzel, sword in hand and sliced the sting clean off of the creatures agonising body, before finishing it off by driving her sword deep into its body. It shook violently in the air before collapsing into the lake with a splash, its furry skin dissolving into a peculiar purple mist on contact with the water.

"_Hmmm... so that's why they hate seawater._" she murmured, cleaning her sword on her sleeve. "Guess that kinda makes us even, Outlander!"

"Guess you're kinda right." replied Alice, reluctantly. "Seriously, what WAS that thing?"

"A Stinger." said Red, rising up from the water's surface.

"One of this _**particular**_ forest's more... _volatile_ inhabitants." added Robin, as she too resurfaced. "You should see one when its _full size!_"

"Really, I shouldn't!" replied a disgusted Alice, glancing over towards the creature's dissipated remains.

"It lures its prey by hypnotising them with its eyes, before suddenly-"

"I get the message, thanks Robin! Now, how do we get outta this lake and find these... 'Zoolanders'...?"

"Woodlanders!"

"Whatever!" she shrugged, before noting the perplexed look on Red's face. "Red, you okay? What's...?"

"Snowfall. Where is he? He didn't follow us in...! Something is... wrong."

"Yup! I'd say." replied Robin, quite nervously. "For it appears we have company!"

As they glanced around the shores of the lake they saw they were surrounded by roughly two dozen warrior-like men equipped with spears, bows and arrows and dressed in armour fashioned from strips of bamboo and leaves, their faces and arms heavily decorated with translucent green and orange lines.

Standing a foot taller over them all was the prince, robed in earthy shades of green and brown, laced with gold furnishings. His long grey mane, draped effortlessly down his spine as an air of royal arrogance circled him enthusing every word he spoke. Stroking his chin, he addressed our besieged quartet of heroes.

"Hello, hello, hello, my pretty-pretty-pretties!" he spoke, gleefully.

"_Is this guy gonna say everything three times-times-times?_" whispered Alice, to Red.

"**Prince Leafersome**, **royal air to the Woodland throne, it is... a sure honour!**" announced Red.

"Yes. Yes, I suppose it is!" replied the Prince. "As much an honour as it will be to die at the hands of my men for you and your company's trespass!"

"Good prince, we seek only safe passage through this forest to complete a mission of great urgency and importance. There is... one among your number, a tracker, regarded as one of the finest ever to have-"

"_Actually, I'm regarded as **THE** finest tracker, ever to have lived!_" announced a proud young voice from behind the prince. "And I'm fairly sure I told you what I would do if this little tracker ever laid eyes on you again?"

"_Please tell me that's not your friend, please tell me that's not your friend!_" whispered Alice.

"**Pocahontas?**" said Red, "It's... been _**too**_ long, old friend. You look-"

"'Old friend'? Perhaps you have failed to understand me for a **_second_** time? And I haven't been called that name since you last betrayed my trust all those years ago!" replied the deeply perplexed girl. "In this age I am know only as; 'Rainmaker'."

"Okay! It's... a cool name!" said Alice, enthusiastically. "_Isn't that a cool name, ladies?_"

"Look, time is far short and we _desperately_ need your help!" pleaded Red, "There is a-"

"**Silence them!**" the girl commanded, with a dismissive wave of her hand. Immediately, four of her warriors stepped forth to fire darts into each of their necks.

"_Damn it... Red._.." muttered Robin, feeling a sudden lightness in her head as the world around her began to spin. . "_Please tell me... this... was... all part of... your plan...!_"

Then she blacked out.

"_Hey... Zelly!_" mumbled Alice, plucking her dart back out and staring at it, hazily. "_Really... am sorry... about the hair...!_"

And with that, the world about her too disappeared into darkness.

_To be continued..._


	10. Dirty Little Secrets

**Dirty Little Secrets**

"Are we... dead?" asked Alice, as she began the stir.

"With you still by my side, annoying my ass, I sure hope not!" bemoaned a slightly groggy Rapunzel, "Where are we?"

"'Where' being the least of our problems." replied Robin, "'How' being a slightly more pressing matter. For starters, it appears the entire _**world**_ has turned upside down!"

"It is not the world that is upside down." explained Red. "It is us! And at… an alarmingly _great height_ it seems!"

As their eyes flickered upwards, which technically was downwards, they saw that indeed they were far, far above the ground, hanging upside down hundreds of feet in the air from branches of some of the tallest trees in the forest. The very same trees that served as a backdrop to the makeshift treetop village that was the home to the Woodland tribe.

The village itself comprised of dozens and dozens of various-sized wooden huts, each skilfully interwoven into a tree of its own, interconnected with one another via lengthy bamboo bridges which were bound together by the strongest of vines. A thousand small torches lit the entire area, bathing the surrounding night sky in sublimely golden-reddish hues.

"Pretty as a picture." marvelled Robin. "Albeit, one hung upside down."

"Riiight, so what's the deal with these 'Woodpeckers' anyway?" asked Alice. "Are they bad guys or...?"

"Woodlanders', Alice. And no, they are self-proclaimed, peacekeeping custodians of all forest life, defending all that it encompasses." explained Robin.

"Right, gotcha!" said Alice, with a knowing wink. "So this is all just their elaborate way of initiating us into the fold?"

"_Nope, they definitely plan on killing us!_" replied Robin. "They have **zero** tolerance for outsiders."

"Right, gotcha!" said Alice. "Anyone else unclear on the somewhat sketchy details of our current predicament?"

"Only you, Outlander." groaned Rapunzel. "Tell me this was all part of some plan, Red. We warned you this would happen!"

"Have hope, old friend, all is not yet lost." replied Red, optimistically. "I am... yet confident of Pocahontas's nature. She will come around eventually!"

"Sure!" agreed Alice. "Just in time to cut these vines that are keeping us aloft, so she can watch us plummet helplessly to our death! I mean, did you see the way she looked at you back there? It was like you'd... slaughtered a pack of defenceless animals or something!"

"Alice has a point, Red. She doesn't seem particularly enamoured by your presence?" said Robin.

All eyes flickered towards Red, her face contorting with anguish at the inner turmoil of sharing what secretly troubled her heart so.

"Either of you... ever experience a moment in life, where the dark deeds of your past foreshadow the once clear path of your future?" she asked.

"Nope." said Alice.

"Not me." said Robin.

"Never!" said Rapunzel.

"I... see! Well, I was no more than eight when it happened. It was during the time of year when snow falls at its hardest. Aesop, my younger brother, and I were living with our grandmother in a small village somewhere on the outskirts of The Red Forest of Elnor.

A mischievous little critter, he was a sheepherder in training, yet always found time to pull the odd prank on the unsuspecting residents of our small and peaceful village."

"**Ha!**" laughed Alice. "**Kinda reminds me of my own younger brother, Elliott. Talk about a consistently royal... pain... **in the... please continue!"

"Thank you. So, one particular early morning, the entire village was awoken by a loud scream. It was Aesop, warning us that a wild wolf had entered our village and was attacking our sheep. But when the elders gathered and rushed to his aid, they found Aesop on the floor... giggling to himself, hysterically. A few saw the funny side, though most did not."

"Yep! Definitely sounds like Elliot! You know one time, that little brat almost... err... continue."

"Never one not to bleed a joke dry, Aesop decided to do it a 2nd... 3rd... and even 4th time. By the 5th time he'd 'cried wolf' nobody came. Which... was a pity, as a pack of ravenous wolves did come that particular morning. Greywolves, the largest, yet weirdly, most docile of their kind. That morning they had devoured our sheep... along with... my brother... Aesop."

"That... definitely... did not happen to Elliot." commented Alice, solemnly.

"It was a slaughter!" continued Red. "The men of the village quickly banded together to try and stave off the attack, as the wolves set out to consume every resource in sight. Their number were many, much more than any had ever seen at one time. Their insatiable bloodlust driven by an intangible rage! Then they turned on the elders... the women... the... children... none but I was spared."

"_Red, I'm... so so sorry." said Alice. "I... we never knew...!_"

"How did you possibly escape?" enquired Rapunzel.

"Snowfall.

He was just a wounded pup when my grandmother first found him, took him in and nursed him back to health. He grew up guarding our household like it was his own, ready to defend us at the merest hint of danger. He took out several of those greywolves, defending us before fleeing from the village with me on his back, by strict order of my grandmother.

As we raced through the trees like the wind, I could hear..._ a faint peculiar **melody** playing in the air... _along with my grandmother's screams, spurring us onwards... to safety, as one of the wolves, the largest, carrying a large scar over its left eye, tor... into... her...!"

"Not the kind of circumstance an 8 year old should have to contend with growing up." said Robin.

"Not the kind anyone should have to contend with." said Rapunzel.

"That day I cried until there were no more tears left to shed. Then spent the following years roaming from forest to forest, searching for those wolves, raising myself in the harsh environments I had come to fear so greatly in my younger days, with nothing but my rage and Snowfall for companionship."

"And thats when you met ole 'Rainwater'?" asked Alice.

"'**Rainmaker**" sighed Rapunzel.

"Pocahontas." said Robin.

"_Whatever_." said Alice.

"She was not much older than I, but so so much more wiser. She found Snowfall and I ensnared in a crawler's freshly laid web."

"Giant eight-legged beasties." whispered Robin to Alice, as Red continued.

"Having helped freed us, I incidentally informed her I was searching for my other wolf pup, a particular greywolf with a large scar over its left eye. She told me greywolves have a general tendency to inhabit riverside caves when in seasons of habitat, and took me to one such location she was familiar with.

Within days, through many maze-like forests, we arrived at the mouth of such a cave and I entered, advising her against her wishes that it was better I go in alone, that it was possibly... afraid.

I am... not sure how long I was... in there for. But Pocahontas did eventually enter in after me. And... found me... in the midst of a sea of dead carcasses. Dead by my own hand... for I had slaughtered them, you see. An entire pack of wolves, as they slept peacefully, using a hunting knife I had found and concealed my basket.

I... shall never forget the look of sheer horror and betrayal on her face. She left me there, stranded, deep in the woods, to die. A fitting punishment for my deception."

"Sheesh." said Alice.

"The wolf with the scar, it was amongst them?"

"No. But by then it mattered not. The... bloodlust, it had infected my mind as thoroughly as it did those that had attacked my village. Retribution was what I craved, and retribution is what I received. Though I still felt... empty. I... never had an opportunity to explain to Pocahontas what she had seen that night. Never had an opportunity... to-"

"**The melody!**" exclaimed Alice, suddenly. "**_The Piper! You think the two are connected? That's why you seek him out so relentlessly! You believe he used the same method on the wolves as he has used on the rats and the children!_**"

"But for what purpose?" asked Robin. "Why attack your peaceful defenceless village?"

"That... question I look forward to asking him, personally." replied Red, "_**Should**_ we make it out of this alive."

As all four hung there in silence, unknown to the other three, a single solitary tear ran down from Red's eye, the culmination of all the grief and sorrow she had carried with her for so long. It ran along the side of her forehead before disappearing off towards the ground, only to be caught in the hand of someone silently watching from one of the bridges below. Someone... who was silently listening. The one they now call; Rainmaker.

"They should have been executed on sight, Rainmaker." said a voice behind her as the Woodland Prince emerged from behind a tree. "You of all are most familiar with the rules of our land regarding trespassing outsiders."

"I... am, my prince," she replied, quickly closing her fist around the teardrop. "but wanted to be clear on what information they may or may not have regarding the whereabouts of our three missing younglings."

"**And I thought I was clear on that particular matter, also?** Those children, that mischievous troublesome Pan and those two impressionable little girls who trail him so obsessively, are probably up to no good somewhere on the outskirts of the forest!"

"Of course, my prince. It's just, there's been so much _**unrest**_ in our community of late. Stories of ravaged lands on the outside, the children's parents have-"

"**Concern yourself not with what concerns our people, Rainmaker.**" scorned the prince. "**Such things are beyond the boundaries of your somewhat limited reach.**"

"Indeed. **Forgive** my... misplaced enthusiasm." the girl apologised.

"Of course. But be it for the last time. You are my mother's most loyal and trusted tracker, Rainmaker, and for that you will always have a place amongst her ranks. _Forget not that place._"

"My deepest gratitude to your mother, our queen. And wishes for her speedy recovery."

"I shall be leaving immediately for tonight's visit. Be sure to have the prisoners executed before my return at midnight." warned the prince.

"My greetings to the queen's sister, your aunt. I hope her well."

"Indeed." replied the prince, before turning to slide down a 100 foot vine to the ground far below, where three dozen of his men awaited on horseback.

"Tinkerbell, where you listening?" asked Pocahontas, out loud.

"I was." giggled a small voice.

"And you heard that?"

"I did." it replied.

"Something isn't right. He's... hiding something. He knows... something. I need you to follow him, find out what that is, but remain hidden. He cannot know."

"Of course, silly! And hey, remaining unseen is kinda my specialty!" said the small voice, giddily.

To be continued...


	11. Exile to War

**Exile to War**

Eventually, the young prince, small army in tow, arrived at the great mountain which sat at the edge of a steep waterfall on the other side of the forest.

"No matter how many times we come here, I can never shake that feeling of unrest." noted Birch, the prince's squire, with a shudder. "As if danger itself lived here!"

"It does, young Birch." replied the prince, "At least, for those foolish enough to count themselves among the enemies of the Arachnian Queen!"

"It seems like only yesterday our queen banished her from our village, does it not? Do you... think she has learned to forgive her for her exile?"

"Forgive? I think, young Birch, there is more chance of Queen Araniella launching an attack on our unsuspecting village, burning it to ashes before watching those ashes scatter into the skies via the wind!"

The squire looked at him gormlessly, wide-eyed in his expression, before the prince eventually broke out with a mischievous grin.

"I jest, of course." he confessed. "Time itself heals every wound."

"Oooohh... you got me, sir! Truly you did."

"Indeed." he smiled. "Now, be a good squire and remain here with the men until I return."

"Of course, sire."

The prince dismounted from his horse with charismatic aplomb and approached the foot of the great mountain. A large, bald, tattooed man stood at its entrance, arms folded, with a huge circular sword on his back. He tilted his head in acknowledgement to the prince, then stepped aside allowing him to enter.

Inside the cave, the prince made his way along. And seemingly embedded within that darkness... eyes... hundreds of eyes. Large and circular they stared at him, blinking in perfect unison as he passed, unperturbed towards a dim amber light in the distance.

Eventually he arrived at the source, revealed to be a great circular stone hall, tinged with flickers of yellow from the various wall-mounted torches. Drapes of webbing hung from the ceiling, its heavily cobwebbed walls embellished with numerous precious stones of every colour and every size that reflected onto the ceiling in kaleidoscopic glory.

For it was the throne room of Queen Araniella, sister of the Woodland Queen and once second in command amongst her ranks.

At the very centre of the stone spiralled floor stood a tall spindly man, again, tattooed head to toe in web-like markings and holding a long iron spear. He raised his right hand and thumped his chest three times in acknowledgement. The Prince nodded back then looked ahead to the queen herself, seated behind him on a black iron throne reminiscent of a giant saddle, strapped to the back of a giant spider-like creature.

She smiled at the prince, warmly, as he greeted her.

"Aunt Araniella, greetings!"

"Prince Leafersome" she replied. "You're late!"

She sat there, her drawn pale face partially visible through her long thick tresses of black hair, wearing a full-bodied gown, stitched together in green and black web-embroiled patterns. There was a gentleness about her, masking a deeper darkness that lurked far beneath it.

"Apologies. I... thought I would give you a head start. You know, go easy on you, for once?"

The queen laughed, then raised her hand, "Indeed, young nephew. Shall we begin? I believe it was your move?"

The Prince looked towards the tall spindly fellow who stood next to a small round table mounted on a five foot stone pillar. On the table's surface, a black and white chequered pattern spiralled inwards towards the centre and standing amongst the chequered squares stood half a dozen warrior shaped pieces carved from wood. Half were painted green, the other half painted black. As each command was given, the man would move the relevant piece.

"How fares your mother?" enquired the queen. "Her illness do persist, I believe?"

"She... gathers her strength from day to day." he replied. "Hasn't spoken much about you these days. Hasn't spoken much about anything! Green runner 6, two paces."

"Interesting choice of direction, exposing your envoy to the mercies of your enemy-Black Queen, 4 paces back."

"She never quite understood my need for our little meetings." pondered the prince. "Green Runner 2, two paces to the left."

"Not surprising, as it was she who initiated my exile in the first place. Black Runner 3, one pace forward."

"A regret I am sure hounds her every thought, and one shared by others, I am sure. Green Runner 2, forward three paces."

"Perhaps 'they' too should have left alongside me when the option to do so was given? Black Queen, 10 paces forward."

"Perhaps, given... another opportunity, they would!" replied the prince, "Green Prince forward, nine paces."

"And the time for such an opportunity?" she asked. "Black Queen, seven paces forward. Green Prince, stop! And surrender."

"Tonight." said the prince. "Green Prince surrenders."

The spindly man removed the green royally fashioned piece from the tabletop, exchanging it for a similar model painted in black. The Arachnian Queen smiled.

"Tonight, then!" she whispered, triumphantly. "Have the children cleared the forest?"

"They should be approaching the south forest boarder as we speak!" he replied.

"Excellent. Then all is going according to-!"

"Err... your... highness." intruded the spindly man. "There's... a peculiar shadow on the back wall."

"A shadow, you say?" asked the queen. "Why is it peculiar?"

"Well, your highness, because it is not yours... nor the good prince... nor... 'mine'!"

"Well then, whose... is... it?" she asked, peering over towards the wall.

"Oh, fuddle! That'd be mine!" squeaked a small, almost inaudible voice. "Only, please don't tell the Rainmaker, she made me promise not to get caught!"

"...Tinkerbell?"

"Oops! Busted!" replied the tiny voice. "Speaking of which, shame on you naughty Prince, for your despicable act of wanton betrayal! Your mother will be most disappointed!"

"Duly noted!" replied the prince. "NOW KILL HER!"

Immediately, the spindly man spun around and drove his spear repeatedly into the wall, as the tiny girl danced and skipped around its blade.

"Hold still, creature!" he growled.

"Only if you stop trying to kill me!" she squeaked, blowing him a raspberry, before hurling a small capsule towards him which exploded into a cloud of colourful smoke.

"She's trying to distract you, you fool! Don't let her escape!"

But the intruder had already made her way back through the tunnels, blowing on a whistle-like device. At once, a falcon flew into the tunnel towards her location. She leapt into its back, pulling on its reigns to steer it back outside.

Suddenly, an alarm was sounded and the walls of the cave seemingly came alive, as huge giant spiders sprung out towards her, spitting acidic webbing in her path.

"Close the cave!" commanded the Queen, as the large burly man who'd stood guard at the entrance started to roll a huge boulder across the entrance.

"Oh fuddle!" exclaimed the girl. "Fuddle, fuddle, fuddle! Fly, falcon, fly like a bird!"

The bird flew with all its speed, as the gap to freedom up ahead narrowed exponentially. With inches to spare the bird swooped through the narrowest of gaps, up into the air to make its way back to the village to warn them of the attack. But the burly guardsman took out a long blowpipe and fired a dart towards them, hitting the falcon in its wing. The bird spun out of control, striking a tree with such force, the girl's body was flung meters into the air and onto the ground below.

As she lay there beneath a tree, nursing her wounded head, she saw the large burly guardsman approaching in the distance, drawing his sword, taunting her as he neared.

"Tinkerbell! I have heard stories of the mad woodland girl, famed for her experiments in 'Desert Bean' manipulation, altering body size...?" he said. "I always thought it was a joke. Now I know for sure you are, I shall enjoy feeding your tiny carcass to my crawler. And then feeding it your entire pathetic village!"

To be continued...


	12. The WoodLand Siege: Part One

**The WoodLand Siege: Part One**

_Nightfall, and all was peaceful in the treetop village known as the Woodland Realm. As our quartet of heroines continued to hang, patiently waiting for their fate to be determined, each sought to deal with their decidedly grim predicament in their own... uniquely individual way._

"_93 bottles of ale on the wall, 93 bottles of ale! Take one down, pass it round, 92 bottles of ale on the wall!_"

"**Seriously, Robin, how long will you be singing that retched song for?**" enquired an increasingly agitated Rapunzel.

"Well, traditionally, till I have only one bottle left!" she replied, chirpily.

"Mercy, no! Please, somebody cut me down and end this torture swiftly!"

"Overreacting just a tad, there, Zelly?" pondered Alice.

"Mmm... perhaps you are right! Somebody, please cut **_HER_** down and end this torture swiftly!"

"Now, now!" responded Robin, "Would you rather we just hung here in silence, waiting ominously to die?"

"None of us shall see death this night, my friends! Of that I am sure!" announced Red, assuringly.

"Ignore her." replied Rapunzel, "Its just the blood rushing into her head!"

"How can you possibly be so sure?" asked Alice.

"Because that's what naturally happens when you're hanging up-"

"No, not...! , Im talking to Red!"

"Because we would already _**be**_ dead!" replied Red. "Isn't that right?"

"_Very good! I'm impressed_" said a voice.

"So am I, you said that last bit without moving your lips!" marvelled Alice.

"That's because I didn't say that last bit." explained Red. "She did!"

As Red hinted with her eyes, the others followed her glare, downwards towards an adjacent bridge, as 'The Rainmaker' once known as 'Pocahontas' slowly emerged from the shadows.

"Your sensitivity to your surroundings has grown considerably stronger over the past years." she noted.

"I had a good teacher." replied Red. "Besides, after you abandoned me in that cave in the middle of nowhere, what other choice did I have?"

"**Well, you could have at least died, like I intended you too?**" she replied, through gritted teeth.

"I will." replied Red. "Eventually. But at a time of fate's choosing, not your own."

"**Well perhaps fate has chosen this to be that-**!"

Suddenly, she froze mid-sentence, reaching behind her back to clasp her hand around one of her tomahawks, before deftly spinning around to deflect a fiery arrow scorching its way towards her from behind.

"Ok, that... was cool!" conceded Robin.

"**_Who goes there? Show yourself!" _**she shouted, brandishing a second tomahawk. But there was silence.

Suddenly, a plethora of fiery arrows flooded fourth from within the darkness of the surrounding night, immediately setting ablaze everything they touched. The Woodland townsfolk sounded their alarms as both elders and guardsmen tried desperately to douse the flames with pales of water. But it was no use, as more and more arrows came flooding in. Some were struck down, injured, others were killed instantly, while others yet still...

"**Death to the Woodland realm! Long live the Arachnian empire!**" they cried, turning on their own men, hacking away at them with wanton abandon, as Pocahontas looked on in sheer terror.

"**Let us help you!**" shouted Red, as the flames continued to spread. Suddenly, the tops of the surrounding trees began to seemingly move.

"**Oh my!**" gasped Robin. "**The stories were true! The wandering forest truly lives!**"

"**No!**" said Rapunzel. "**Something inside them lives...! Something... large. Make that, multiple... very large... somethings... heading in our direction.**"

Suddenly, a terrifying army of giant spiders sprung forth from the trees to attack the village, spreading their acidic-like webbing on the unsuspecting townsfolk. On their backs rode the Arachnian army, fully armed with spears, swords, bows and arrows. Immediately, Pocahontas leapt down from the high bridge, landing on one of the soldiers with her twin blades, before felling the creature itself with a deftly swing.

"**We need to break free!**" shouted Red, as she watched helplessly.

"**Well, its not like we were here by choice, you know!**" replied Alice.

Suddenly, a stray fiery arrow blazed its way over them, instantly setting their vines alight.

"**Happy now?**" asked Robin, as she watched the vines burn, before comically trying to blow out the flames.

"**Quick, swing!**" urged Red. "**It's our only chance. We do not have long. The saps inside these vines burn with alarming ease! Now swing!**"

Sudden, another volley of arrows screeched past them, one just missing Alice's face, the feathers of it's fletching brushing against the side of her cheek.

"**Crikey!**" she shrieked. "**Swing faster!**"

_Back and forth they rocked and rocked,_

_like the pendulum swinging on a grandfather clock._

_And just at the point their vines finally snapped,_

_on the bridge they landed, safely on their backs._

"Ow! Let's... not do that again anytime soon?" suggested Alice.

"Agreed!" said Robin, struggling to free herself, for all were still firmly bound by hand and foot. "We're gonna need something sharp!"

"Coming right up!" replied Red, eyeing three Arachnian soldiers clambering onto the bride towards the other end of the bridge armed with a sword, spear and bow. Immediately, Red flipped back onto her feet, before hopping fearlessly towards them.

["**HA! This red one is truly insane!"**] laughed one of them in his native tongue, before storming towards her, sword held high.

["You have no idea!"] smiled Red, as he swung his sword down towards her head.

Swiftly and with impeccable timing, she flipped forward, safely beneath the blades path, as it ripped first through her hand restraints, then through those binding her ankles, before she clasped her legs around his neck. Then, leaning backwards, she flipped his body over, slamming it back onto the floor with a 'thud'. The other two men looked on in wonder as Red tossed the soldiers sword over her head, it's blade sinking into the wooden floor behind her, severing the ropes that had bound Alice's hands.

Immediately, the other two ran at her, one firing arrows which she easily avoided by sidestepping, the other thrusting his iron spear towards her, clumsily. With one swift move, she guided his spear into his comrades chest before sticking his jaw with the other end. As both men fell to the floor, Red took their weapons and tossed them also to her friends.

"Tend to the wounded, show the enemy no mercy!" she commanded them.

"That wasn't a plan I agreed to, Red!" groaned Rapunzel, but she had already gone, having dove off of the bridge to engage in the battle below, she clutched the ends of her scarlet cloak to drift gracefully down, before releasing it to soar into an Arachnian guard on spiderback like a guided missile.

"**Show off!**" shouted Robin after her, strapping the quiver onto her back. "_Not quite my trusted sidekick, but I guess it'll have to do!_" she groaned.

Meanwhile, the forest was filled with sounds of crackling flames and cries of anguish.

"**What are you doing?**" shouted Pocahontas, climbing onto the bridge Red had landed onto.

"**You need our help and we need yours! Look around, your people are being slaughtered!**" implored Red.

"**Not your concern!**" she snapped back. "**Best you run along and hide yourself under the largest rock, in the furthest corners of our land, and remain there**!"

"**Since when did you grow so... stubborn?**" bemoaned Red. Suddenly, the girl she knew as Pocahontas pulled back her tomahawk and flung in Red's direction with all her might.

"**_No, wait!_**" screamed Red, as the axe sailed towards her, seemingly in slow motion, then past her to sink itself satisfyingly into an Arachnian warrior who'd crept up behind her.

"Fine! We shall settle our war once this battle is over!" conceded Pocahontas. "For now, help me get as many of our people to the 'Hollow Tree' that sits over there. It leads down into a ravine that rests under the ground. From there they can swim safely to the nearest stream!"

"Sounds like a plan!" said Red. "What will you do?"

"Our leader, the Queen, is sick. Now, I am sure of how and why! It was her own son, by will of her own sister. Her hut is the furthest in the corner of our village, at the highest point. I need to get to it and ensure her safety, personally!"

"Go! I'll ensure you have sufficient cover!" assured Red.

She nodded, then leapt off of the bridge to catch a vine, before swinging off into the distance. Meanwhile, Red signalling Robin with a whistle, motioned in Pocahontas's direction. Robin nodded in acknowledgement and immediately set about pinpointing every Arachnian fighter in her path, dispatching them with swift and relevant ease.

Meanwhile, Alice and Rapunzel, having finally fought their way down, arrived at the bridge where Red stood fending off her attackers. "We need to get as many of these people to the large tree over there!" she yelled at them. "It has a hollow centre that leads beneath the ground into an underwater escape route!"

"Gotcha!" said Alice, with a nod.

Elsewhere, Pocahontas, finally nearing the queen's hut, leapt onto the final vine and swung towards it, just as an arrow had severed it in two. Flying through the air, her momentum carried her forward until she crashed through its bamboo walls and across its wooden floor. As she slowly rose to her feet, she felt the touch of cold steel pressed firmly against her throat.

"It's normally courteous to at least knock before crashing into the Queen's chambers." said the Queen before lowering her sword.

"Mam, we need to get you away from here as quickly as possible. The entire village is under heavy attack. Some of our own people have turned against us."

"My sister." said the Queen, bitterly, barely able to stand. "The venom in her veins runs deeper than any well. I'd long feared her poison was still evident among our clan."

"There is... more." she continued, hesitantly. "I had suspicions in the past but held off saying anything until I was sure. But it... appears your son, the prince, has sided with her, playing an integral part in this betrayal. He... may even be responsible for your ill health of late, my queen."

"My... son? No. No, that... cannot be... my own son? I should never have agreed to him visiting that 'woman' following her banishment. I... should have been stronger."

"You did what you thought was best, 'mam."

"Only your best was not nearly quite enough, was it mother?" asked a voice from behind them. They turned to see the prince himself standing there, dressed in black at the entrance with four of his men. On his face he wore the Arachnian markings favoured by that clan, and his hair, once typically tied back, was left loose to roam freely across his face.

"Five against one? Is that all you brought?" asked Pocahontas, defiantly twirling her twin tomahawks in her hand.

"Hardly." laughed the Prince, before taking his horn in his hand and blowing it.

Outside, the sound echoed throughout the forest, followed by an eerie silence, as Alice and the others, exhausted with helping what villagers they could get into the hollow tree, turned and looked on with trepidation.

Then the branches of the distant tress began to rustle once more.

"No way our luck can be that bad!" sighed Alice.

But indeed it was, as a hundred more crawlers, each with an Arachnian warrior on its back, clamoured out of the tress towards them.

"What was that you said about none of us seeing death?"

To be continued...


	13. The WoodLand Siege: Part Two

**The WoodLand Siege: Part Two**

_The long night continued._

_And once again our heroes, along with the last of the wounded rescued villagers, find themselves at the mercy of an unknown fate. Gathered at the center of a long bridge that lead directly onto the mysterious 'Hollow Tree', they looked on at the distant sight of over a hundred Arachnian warriors, each mounted upon the back of a giant crawler, waiting patiently amidst the distant surrounding trees, poised to attack at a moments notice._

"W-what are they waiting for?" asked a villager, as he trembled with fear.

"Look, the Hollow Tree's just up ahead, the rest of your people awaiting down below, so why are we even stopping to find out?" asked Rapunzel.

"Because we'd never make it." said Robin. "Not all of us, anyway. Still a fair trek along this bridge and crawlers that size can cover more ground, quicker, than Friar Tuck on a chicken farm!"

"Who?"

"Well then it's every woman for herself." declared Rapunzel. "Cause I am through waiting."

"Must be a reason they are not attacking us?" pondered Red to herself.

"Might it have something to do with that?" said Robin, pointing behind them towards the other side of the village, where a large sea vessel could be been seen hovering motionlessly in the sky.

"Okay, is that... a ship? Like, in the air?" asked a befuddled Alice. "Emphasis on '_in the air_'?"

"That is an airship, Alice." explained Red. "Strange that it is hovering directly over the queen's quarters."

"Right. Cause that's, like, the _**only**_ thing that's strange about it, isn't it?" responded Alice. "That that 'ship' is hovering over the '_**queen's**_' quarters!?"

Meanwhile, inside said hut...

"Tinkerbell? Where is she?" demanded Pochahontas, standing between the queen and her son the prince, with four of his torch-bearing men by his side.

"Dead. I'd expect. Or at least, hoped." said the prince. "Hiring that lunatic outsider to spy on me was as desperate as it was ingenious! To think the little runt almost ruined this little party of mine! Speaking of which, any final words, mother?"

"Yes, actually!" she replied. "**You are a thorough disappointment!"**

"You're entitled to your opinion." he smiled. "Hardly makes it conducive. Although, truth be told, I've quite enjoyed our little game. Weeding out the weak from the aggressive amongst our clan, so's to slowly convince the later to agree to help me overthrow you. Best of all, me poising you slowly over the past year, with what you actually thought was Medicine!"

"**I knew it!**" exclaimed Pocahontas.

"And yet said nothing." tutted the prince. "What does that say about you?"

"It says I was... biding my _time_." she replied, regrettably.

"And now you are out of it! You know, there is... still... a special place amongst my ranks reserved for someone with your 'unique' talents?"

"I'd sooner have my eyeballs gorged out, ground into dust and fed to me, through my nasal cavity, via a 2 millimetre width tube!"

"So. A 'no' then." he grinned.

"You know, I always viewed you as a sick, pathetic, spineless excuse of spoilt child, who clearly craved more attention than he could ever obtain, growing up to become an overindulgent, underachieving, inconsiderate, self righteous brat!"

"Really?" gasped the prince, mockingly. "And what do you _**really**_ think of me?"

"You... **repulse** me!"

"There! Now, wasnt _that_ so much simpler? Three words... four cylabals... five seconds to decide wether to pursue me or..." he fires his crossbow at his mothers leg, causing her to scream in pain. "Rescue her?"

"**NO!**" screamed Pocahontas, as the fiendish prince made his exit, ordering his men to set fire to the hut in the process.

"Farewell, mother. Only wish father was here to witness this moment. Then you could have shared this fate together!"

Meanwhile, back outside...

"Say, isn't that that creepy prince guy climbing up that rope towards the ship?" noted Alice.

"Who cares! Looks like that restless army over there is finally getting ready to move. Look alive people!" urged Robin, readying her bow.

"**Ouch!**" yelled Alice, suddenly.

"What is it?"

"**That small stone wrapped in paper, somebody threw it at my head!**" she explained.

"What...? Who? There's no one else around?" said Rapunzel.

"_Other than the hundred or so angry-looking web-tattooed warriors heading towards us, you mean?_" said Robin.

"_I'M telling you, somebody definitely threw something at me! Look, it's right there on the floo_-**OW**!"

"_What now?_" sighed Rapunzel.

"**Another one!**" she moaned, rubbing the back of her sore head. "_Why me?_"

"_I dunno, thought about doing it myself a couple a times!_" mumbled Rapunzel, to herself.

"Guys, those 'hundred or so, angry-looking men' are getting real close...!" warned Robin, pulling the string of her bow back at maximum torque.

"Wait, you said the stones were wrapped in paper? Take a look at them." suggested Red, with a hunch.

"Seriously?" said Alice, before quickly deciding to pick one up, carefully unraveling the paper from it.

"_**Well, what does it say?**_" asked one of the villagers, eagerly.

"It says; '_Read the other message_'." sighed Alice, before tossing it aside and quickly grabbing the other one.

"**Look, whatever y'all are doing, do it quickly, these guys are almost upon us!**" urged Robin, aiming her bow anxiously at the multiple incoming targets.

"**Okay, okay!**" said Alice, before reading out the message. "'_Get into the hollow tree, the calvery is here!_' Ha... they spelt 'calvary' wrong!" she laughed.

"**Who cares if they spelt 'Calvary' wrong?**" screamed a panicked Robin.

Suddenly, Red spun around, quickly reaching out her hand to catch a third stone sailing towards the back of Alice's head.

"Wow. And, err... thanks." said Alice.

"What does _**that**_ one say?" asked Robin.

"It says; '_Nice catch!_'... with a... drawing of a _smiley face_?"

And that's when they heard it. A loud sound as chilling as it was familiar. A thousand beating wings moving in unison, accompanied by that unmistakably infernal buzzing sound that seemed to roar throughout the forest, leaving Robin the only option of lowering her bow to utter a single, solitary word.

"Stingers."

From the opposing side of the crawlers they came. An entire monstrous swarm, their menacing tentacles twitching almost excitedly at the prospect of coming face to face with their sworn enemy, crawlers. And at their head, leading the charge atop of a stinger slightly different to the many others that followed it, was...

"Is that... is that a girl? Riding a stinger?" gasped Alice.

"Not just any stinger, the _**male**_ of the species. Rare and much sought after by its female counterparts, the poor thing's probably flying for its life. And that crazy girl is using it to lure the female horde right into the army of crawlers. The two species despise one another, vigorously!"

"Which..." begins Robin. "I'd say makes this a pretty much a _near-perfect_ time to...**RUN!**"

And run they did. Heroes and villagers alike, they darted across the bridge as fast as their legs could carry them, all the while dodging the random arrows that rained continuously all around them.

As they reached the tree, each of the villagers were ushered through its dark opening, one by one, followed by Rapunzel then Robin. But Red stood fast, glancing over towards the tall distant tree to the burning hut where both the queen and her longtime friend were.

"**Red, we need to go, now!**" urged Alice. "**Forget Moonwalker, she's-!**"

Just then, two bodies came crashing through the wall of the queen's hut. It was Pocahontas with the queen's frail body flung securely over her shoulder. As they fell, she fired an arrow attached to a rope from a crossbow at a distant tree, then using her momentum swung speedily towards the bridge Alice and Red were awaiting on, landing with a thump at their feet.

"Okay, _that_... was pretty awesome!" noted Alice. "Ever seen Star Wars?"

"**Quick, let's get them inside!**" urged Red, assisting her friend, just as a stinger engulfed in flames hurtled itself towards the tree's open entrance. With moments to spare, Red, the last to jump, dived through the hole just as the flaming creature crashed itself setting the tree instantly ablaze.

As REd slid down the tree's spiral shaped insides, she could feel the heat all around her intensifying until finally, she hit the waters surface with a resounding splash, before sinking slowly into its murky depths.

Swimming, for what seemed an eternity, she could eventually spot a shore to the underwater cave, and tried desperately to reach it. But alas, exhausted from battle, the air in her lungs had almost fully depleted. Closing her eyes she waited patiently for her end to finally come. Perhaps this is what fate had always intended?

Suddenly, a lithe arm cloaked in tattered cloth, grabbed hold of the scuff of her scarlet hood and hoisted her out of the water to rest her safely onto the damp cave floor.

"Th-thank you... Alice...!" she gasped

"I believe that makes us pretty much even?"

To be continued...


	14. The Cave Beneath The Tree

**The Cave Beneath The Tree**

_Far beneath the ground in a large underwater cave that echoed the drops of condensation as they continuously fell from its ceiling, our heroines, along with Pocahontas and those of her people fortunate enough to have survived the Woodland siege, aided one another as they nursed their wounds and gathered what little of their strength was left._

"12 bruised, 16 fatally wounded, 48 dead, 44 unaccounted for, and 83 known defectors to the Arachnian army. Not to forget the three younglings still unaccounted for from three nights ago!" reported a Woodland official to Pocahontas. "Suffice to say, we're in terribly bad shape, mam."

"Have the emergency supplies we've had stashed down here evenly distributed among those in need of them." she commanded.

"Yes, War-chief."

"Then take two of our fastest runners to the westside forest at the caves exit and gather as many Green orchid leaves as you can carry to aid with the recovery of the wounded. Hurry, and ensure you are not seen!"

"Of course, War-chief. Right away, mam."

And with that the tribesman thumped his chest and swiftly made his exit, just as Red had approached for a quite word.

"Hey PK, I have heard what the dark prince did to your queen, his own mother at that! How is she faring?"

"She... will live." replied Pocahontas, sternly, barely containing the rage in her that practically seethed through her eyes. "'He', on the other hand, most certainly will not!"

"Of that I am sure. But tell me, how did this insurgence come to transpire in the first instance?"

"Through seeds of manipulation, long since sown into the mind of the Prince by the Queen's own sister. We were all blind to it. Though looking back, it was... evidently only a matter of time."

"The benefit of hindsight. Rest assured he shall be found." vowed Red, before noticing an uncharacteristic smile stretching across the tribeswoman's face. "What's so funny?"

"You... called me 'PK'. It's been an age since I've heard that name. Never did figure out where you got the 'K' from?"

"I was... young and couldn't spell." gushed Red, embarrassingly.

"The least of your shortcomings, if memory serves me correctly." she replied, resuming a cold stern demure.

"About that... I... I can explain. You see, there is a connection between what happened, the missing children and possibly the dark antics of your Prince!"

"Missing children? What... missing children? The three younglings from our village?"

"You... haven't heard? Several small villages outside of the forest were attacked in as many weeks, each shorn of its entire number of children, with nothing but death and devastation left in the wake of each attack."

""I was unaware such things had transpired. We... Woodlanders persist in keeping ourselves to ourselves, seldom getting involved in the affairs of the outside." explained Pocahontas. "Ogres?"

"That and more. They call him 'The Piper'. He commands them to do his bidding, though we are not yet sure exactly what that bidding entails. We've been tracking his movements for sometime now, the trail led through these parts. We are trying to get to the tree that stands tallest at the centre of the forest, in hope of catching sight of the direction the fiend is heading."

"The tree at the... centre...? That is no tree, scarlet warrior, that is a bonafide 'beanstalk'. As rare a sight as it is wondrous. As it is... terrifying."

"Beanstalk? As in the fabled plants from stories of old, told when I was but a... well that's impossible!" marvelled Red.

"Most things are, in these unpredictable times we live in." she replied.

Suddenly the two were interrupted by a fellow tribesman rushing towards them with great urgency.

"**Warchief, come quickly!**" he urged. "**The wild one has returned from battle. But she is... greatly wounded. I... am not sure how... much longer... she...!**"

Immediately they hurried, following the villager back through the crowd towards the edge of the river where they found a girl lying on the floor, bruised and bloodied from battle, gasping for air as she desperately clutched the arm of the village doctor who was tending to her.

"**Damn... vermin!**" she seethed as she writhed, "**Got me... real good, too! Barely able... to... fend them... off! But I go... knowing my sacrifice has... not... been... in vain.**"

"Who is that?" whispered Alice to Rapunzel.

"Don't you recognise her? It's the crazy girl from before." she replied. "The one who 'rode' them stingers into battle!"

"I'm sorry, is that... whispering I hear? Who is that?" the girl suddenly sprung up and asked.

"Ah, that was... me... sorry?" said an awkward Alice. "My name's Rapunzel and this here's Alice! Sorry, I meant, I'm Alice, and this is... err... never mind?"

"**There's no wound here?**" remarked the doctor, suddenly. "**This blood's not even hers! She's not dying at all!**"

"Dying? Ha! Ha-ha! 'Ha' three times!" said the girl, as she brushed the doctor aside. "Of course not, I was merely practicing my infamous 'deathbed' speech! Seemed as ripe a time as any, till you in the back rudely interrupted, of course! Waste of a perfectly adequate opportunity, that!"

As the peculiarly dressed girl continued to mumble to herself inaudibly, Alice and the others looked on, totally befuddled.

"Ooookaaay! Ahh... who is she, again?" she asked.

"Tinkerbell! An old and dare I say 'loyal' friend." explained Pocahontas, before sending a sly scolding look in Red's direction. "She has secretly been aiding me with my investigation into the Prince for sometime now. Glad to see you made it, Bell!"

"Only half as glad as I am!" replied the girl, wringing the water from her soaked garments. "Which, by my calculation, has me at twice the gladness of your... err... gladness-ness... I guess...!"

"Red. We... should really be going." advised Rapunzel, slowly gathering her things.

"Indeed!" agreed Red, with a nod towards Robin.

"Wait!" said Pocahontas. "You said you need to get to the center of the forest in the quickest time possible, yes? Well, Tinkerbell here can get you there quicker than most!"

"She... can?" marveled Rapunzel.

"I can?" marveled the girl.

"Yes, you can!" replied Pocahontas.

"Oh, I can!" exclaimed the girl.

"Well, wonders never cease." mumbled Alice to herself.

"And in 'Wonderland' they rarely do, isn't that right, Alice?" smiled the girl.

"Does she... know you, Alice?" asked Robin.

"I dunno, do you?" said Alice to the girl.

"I dunno, do I?" asked the girl to Alice, as she scratched her head.

"Okay, seriously Red, I think we're better off on our own!" said Rapunzel. "We've managed okay so far...!"

"**MANAGED TO GET YOURSELVES NEARLY KILLED , 'SHORT LOCKS'!**" roared the girl, suddenly.

"Whoa!" exclaimed Rapunzel, slowly drawing her sword. "Did she just...? Did you just...?"

"I dunno, did I?" said the girl.

"I dunno, did you?" said Rapunzel.

"I dunno, did I?" said the girl.

"Okay, enough!" ordered Red. "Zelly, not now! Tinkerbell, If there's even a chance you can get us to where we need to go in such a time, I say that warrants at least a try!"

"I like her!" exclaimed Tinkerbell excitedly. "Not so much the bald one."

"Why you...!"

"Zelly!"

"Good! Then it is settled." affirmed Pocahontas, "I will join you all once our people are safely relocated."

And with that, Tinkerbell sprung to her feet and began to make her way out of the cave, beckoning the four to follow her.

"Do keep up!" she said as the others followed.

"Oh, and 'scarlet one'!" called out Pocahontas. "Know when this is all over, you and I still have that grave matter to attend to between us."

As the two locked eyes in an icy-cold stare off, the temperature in the cave seemed to suddenly grow colder still, only resuming normality with Red finally turning away to continue her exit out of the cave.

"Of that you can be sure."

To be continued...

_A/N a slight detour from the original posted chapters to add a few elements I initially missed out. Cheers._


	15. Alice & The Beanstalk

**Alice &amp; The Beanstalk **

_'Twas a cold and silent night. The forest remained silent and still, as our five warriors sat crouched on the branches of an enormous tree high above the ground. Watching. Waiting. Though for 'what' exactly, one in particular wasn't quite sure. _

"Ahh... what are we doing here again?" whispered Alice.

"Shh... we're waiting!" whispered Robin back to her.

"I know we're waiting, but what for?" she replied.

"**Hooters! We're waiting for Hooters!**" snapped Tinkerbell, perched on a higher branch. "**Now please, all of you, be quite!**"

Again, the forest grew still as all five sat patiently and waited in silence. Silence, that is, but for the sound of Alice giggling to herself uncontrollably.

"What's so funny, Outlander?" asked an irritated Rapunzel.

"Hooters!" whispered Alice back to her, wiping her eyes. "Where I come from its the name of a... place where... well... oh, never mind!"

"Thank's. We won't!" chided Rapunzel.

"**Will you please both be quite?**" pleaded Tinkerbell.

Again, silence fell upon the forest. That is until...

"Exactly why are we waiting for Hooters, again?" enquired a puzzled Robin.

"**OH, FOR THE LOVE OF...! I TOLD YOU ALL!**" exclaimed Tinkerbell. "**ON SUCH A NIGHT AS THIS, THEIR FLIGHT PATH TAKES THEM, AND HOPEFULLY US, ON THE QUICKEST MOST DIRECT PATH, OVER THE TREES TOWARDS THE FAR SOUTH END OF THE FOREST, VIA THE CENTRE, PAST THE LARGE TREE YOU WISH TO-!**"

"Beanstalk." mumbled Rapunzel. "It's… a giant beanstalk!"

"**WHATEVER**!" yelled Tinkerbell. "**NOW PLEASE, ALL OF YOU, FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS TRANQUIL IN OUR TURMOIL-RIDDEN LAND, SHUT-UP!**"

Again, silence fell upon the forest. Until...

"So, 'transport' then?" sighed Robin, much to the groaning of Tinkerbell. "She could have simply said the word 'transport' and be done with it! No cause for all of the-"

"**Shhh! They're coming!**" urged Tinkerbell. "Be ready to jump!"

"Err... 'Jump'?" gulped Alice.

"Good!" exclaimed Rapunzel. "I was starting to lose all feeling in my left buttock!"

"Follow my lead!" shouted Tinkerbell, before launching herself in the air, followed by Red, Robin and Rapunzel. For a moment their bodies seemed to hang suspended in the air. Then, just as gravity began to take hold once more, and with a loud whooshing sound, each landed safely on the large pearly-white feathered wings of a flock of enormous...

"Owls!" exclaimed Alice. "They're giant white Owls!"

"**Alice! Quickly, come on!**" shouted Robin, as she and the others glided off into the distance.

Alice took a short run and leapt off the branch, landing on her own 'Hooter', bouncing off of its wing only to land safely on the giant bird's back. Then, grabbing a handful of its beautiful soft linen-like fur, she rode the creature off into the distance to follow her friends.

"**Hang on tight!**" laughed Tinkerbell, clearly having way too much fun, as the others looked down at the now tiny forest and gasped.

"It's... so beautiful from up here!" marveled Robin.

"And yet so life-threateningly dangerous from down there!" added Red.

Before long they had neared their destination, the mammoth-sized leaves of the gigantic beanstalk glistened like precious jewels in the moonlight. Up and up it towered far beyond sight, piercing the clouds above as it reached far into the unknown.

"What a sight to behold!" marvelled Robin. "I have heard many a story as a child about such things... had thought them all mere fantasies."

"Worse are the stories surrounding where the tops of the stalks may lead into!" added Rapunzel.

"A Land of the giants!" surmised Red. "I too have heard such stories."

"'Giants'... as in...?"

"As in the opposite of dwarfs, Alice, yes!" sighed Rapunzel.

"Indeed! Legend has it they tower high above both ogres and trolls in size. Though I find it a little hard to believe." pondered Robin, before turning to Tinkerbell. "Now, Miss Bell, how exactly do we stop these things?"

"We don't. We jump!" giggled Tinkerbell, before launching herself again into the air with wanton abandon, as she dove towards the giant plant.

"See? I told you all she was mad! But you didn't listen! Nooo... you never listen!" shouted Rapunzel, before following suit.

Then, one after the other, each found a soft landing on the smooth textured surface of a leaf. Alice, last as ever to jump, dived towards them. But, misjudging the distance, bounced along the leaf's surface before tumbling off of its edge.

Thankfully Red, who had landed on the leaf below her, held out her hand and caught Alice's wrist just in time.

"**I've got you, Alice!**" she screamed, before helping up.

"Would say 'I owe you one', Red, but I've a feeling it's a fair few more than that!" smiled Alice to her friend.

"Okay, so now what?" asked Rapunzel, staring haplessly down across the vast swarm of trees below them that seemed to stretch for miles in every direction.

"Ahh... yes. Well... we'll need something to... err... help us... see into the... err... distance, of course!" said Alice, half-heartedly.

"Ah, is that all? Well that's easy. _**It's literally only pitch black out here!**_" scorned Rapunzel.

"Well I... I can't think of _**everything**_!" yelled Alice back.

"Actually, you can't think of **anything**, can you Outlander? To believe I actually _allowed_ myself to..."

"**Hey**!" shouted Tinkerbell, peering down from the edge of her leaf above. "Wanna try this?"

She tossed Alice a short tubular object made of metal, its strange brushed surface feeling both equally rough and smooth in her hands.

"I call it a; '_Distant Sight Enhancer'_!" explained Tinkerbell.

"Wow, a telescope!" gasped Alice.

"Well... yes I… suppose... 'telescope' sounds _**mildly**_ cooler...!" mumbled Tinkerbell before continuing. "It's fitted with multiple shards of volcanic hourglass, enabling night vision as clear as if it were day. By moving the various components on its chassis, you are also able to visually bring distant objects nearer to you and likewise push nearer objects… afar!"

"Is anyone else here falling asleep?" sighed Rapunzel.

Alice raised the device to her eye and peered through it, scoping the entire surrounding area in hope of catching sight of the missing children.

"I find it quite eerie being so high up in the air." noted Robin to Red. "Those clouds above us... so near we could practically reach up and touch them."

"Hmmm... who knows what wonders may be lurking up there?" said Tinkerbell, as she lay on her back, hands clasped comfortably behind her head. "The mind boggles!"

"_Your's_ most certainly does!" mumbled Rapunzel

"Alice, can you see anything?" shouted Red.

"Not yet. Wait! Yes, yes I can! Appears to be… a carriage… make that... 20 large carriages... at least... on giant wheels... each carriage containing around 10-15 children... like a... train of some sort! Up front, pulling it all along... count four, maybe five ogres. They're heading over there in that direction!"

"That's East!" noted Tinkerbell.

"Towards the Drylands? Why in the seven lands would anyone be heading there?" quizzed Robin.

"**What of The Piper?**" seethed Red, her eyes burning with the color of her namesake. "**Any sight of the fiend?"**

"No, not... yes, I see him! At least I think it's him. Thin, very tall-looking, weird dress sense. He's sitting on the first carriage, whipping those ogres into a right frenzy. Boy, is he a m-what? What in the-?"

"What is it?" asked Robin.

"He... he looked at me! He'turned around and looked right at me... and winked!"

"Ah... that's... impossibly improbable, lady." replied Tinkerbell. "Do you know how high up in the air we are? How far away they are? How-?"

"I'm telling you, he turned and looked up right at me!"

"Right, Alice, of course he did!" joked Robin.

"Oh, don't be an idiot, Outlander! It's **impossible**!" scorned Rapunzel.

"I'm sorry, did you just call me an idiot?"

"No, I said _**don't**_ be an idiot!"

"But surely, by _**telling**_ me not to be an idiot, you are therefore **_implying_** I, at present, am?"

"Okay, _**now**_ you're being an idiot!"

"Wait, did you just call me an idiot... _**again?**_"

"Err... ladies... can we not-?"

"**Wait, shut up a minute! **Did you all feel that?" enquired Tinkerbell. "Like a... **tremor**... vibrating... shaking the very foundation we currently reside upon! …There it is again!"

"It's... getting nearer… louder... **stronger**! What could possibly shake this monstrosity of a plant we're standing on?" asked Rapunzel to herself. "Just what in the-?"

Suddenly, a giant hand pierced the surface of the clouds above them, reaching down towards our hapless five. Robin screamed and drew her bow, instantly sending three arrows into its large trunk-like forefinger, as a loud bellow echoed across the skies.

"Okay, might I suggest we leave now?" said Robin, nervously.

"Was that... was... was that a-?"

Just then, the other hand swooped down to take a swipe at them. Tinkerbell, ducked beneath it, whilst Red skillful flipped over its path onto an adjacent leaf. The hand struck the leaf Alice was standing on and she stumbled backwards before falling off of the leafs edge altogether.

"**ALICE**!" the girls screamed after, as the giant hand swooped down towards them again. But she was gone.

_Down, down, down she fell._

_How long for, she couldn't tell._

_Then suddenly, peculiarly, and without a moments warning,_

_'Splash' she hit the icy cold surface of a... fountain?_

"**Get her out of there!**" screamed the orderly to the hospital guard as he clambered in to drag her lithe soaking frame out of the fountain's murky waters.

"**You've done some crazy-dumb-ass things during your time here, Alice." **he scolded her**. "But this... this beats every damn one of em!"**

To be continued...


	16. There's no place like home, Really!

**There's no place like home. Really!**

Time was ticking.

Left, right, left, right, Alice's eyes followed the hypnotic movement of the pendulum that swung ominously beneath the large antique clock's vintage visage, it's freestanding fixture dominated Doctor Seuss's office as it stood directly behind where he sat at his desk, peering down over him like a royal guard.

The office itself, a plethora of mahogany wood furnishings from various parts of the world, was adorned with all manor of vintage memorabilia acquired over many years, along with a collection of awards proudly on display in a glass cabinet.

Yes, 'time was a ticking' as they say, and also, Alice had feared, rapidly running out.

"Not so talkative today, Alice. Why is that?" asked the doctor, as he leaned back and smoked his pipe, a frown of concern creasing the skin of his forehead until it resembled the outside of an old leather shoe.

Alice, with her scruffy hair draped over the majority of her face, glanced over at him to notice the rather generously sized plaster stretched across his nose.

"What... happened to your face, doctor?" she enquired. Her voice barely more than a whisper.

'What? Oh, this?" he said pointing at his nose with the end of the pipe. "Why, don't you remember? You did this to me when you tried to escape!"

Alice's eyes flickered up towards the clock, then back again.

"That was... months ago, doctor... surely... surely by now... it would of-!"

"Months ago? Alice, that was Tuesday. Today is Wednesday. You... you do... know that today is Wednesday, don't you?"

She remained silent, her eyes darting around the office with confusion as she struggled to comprehend his response. 'Can that be?' she thought to herself, before dismissing the idea altogether. The doctor puffed on his pipe then scribbled some notes down on his pad before continuing.

"I've... noticed that nice young man doesn't come to visit you anymore. Weren't the two of you supposed to get engaged this summer? Is... that why you are so quite? Do you... miss him?"

Again, Alice remained silent.

"It's not an uncommon feeling, you know? Isolation, at times, helps us to... re-evaluate what is important in our lives. Helps us refocus our minds intentions... provide us with direction. It's my wish that we could... talk about these 'episodes' you are still having?

Maybe we could get a clearer more concise understanding as to what might be triggering them? Understand what they might mean? You know, I once had a recurring dream I was a flying hamster being chased through the clouds by a racoon on a hand-glider?"

"That's… the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard, doctor."

"Really, and... why is that, may I ask?"

"Because everyone knows raccoons only fly B-52 Bombers." she smiled.

"I... see."

The doctor pushed his spectacles further up the bridge of his nose, frowned again, then scribbled more notes down before closing the notepad and clasping his hands together as he leant forward.

"Your… mother came to see you yesterday, did you know that? No, of course you didn't. You were confined to your room for the entire day with all visiting privileges revoked as a result of your attempted escape. A pity. First time in, what, a year since you have last seen her? She... misses you."

Alice's face contorted, an outward manifestation of her inner turmoil, as if she were at war with the sudden wave of emotions that threatened to overwhelm her.

"Don't... you miss her too? This... situation is as... difficult for her... as it is for you. Don't you owe it to her... to try... harder...? Don't you owe it... to yourself?"

A single tear streams down the side of Alice's face. She doesn't fight it, doesn't wipe it away or even acknowledge it. Just sits there. Staring down at the doctors desk. Motionless.

"Wanna know what I believe? I believe this... world you believe you travel to... is in your mind. It's escapism. Quite common, too. It's the minds coping mechanism that takes over to enable you to deal with what's happening out here... in the real world."

"No. No, it's... it's real. I know it is...! The children... we found the children... we know where they are heading... we have to rescue them! We need...!"

"Perhaps... perhaps these 'children' you speak of are representative of you? Your innocence... your mind's way of telling you you need to be rescued... from yourself?"

"No. No, that... Red, Robin... Tinkerbell... I was there... they were there all-!"

"Manifestations of your own psychosis. Each a key facet of your own personality brought to vibrant life... the parts of you that are brave, argumentative... wild... daring... !"

"I...!"

Alice paused. Contemplating the doctors words as the echoed over and over in her mind. Could he be right? Was her adventures in Wonderland and beyond mere figments of her broken mind?

Eventually she spoke.

"Per...perhaps... perhaps your right, doctor. Perhaps. But... there's also another angle to consider. What if... what if you and this entire facility were the fantasy? What if you are the one that isn't real? What if you represent all that's screwed up, miserable, un-hinged and doomed to failure in my life?"

The doctor remained silent, as if thrown by this most bizarre of suggestions. Then after a moment closed his notepad and placed his pen gently on his table beside it.

"I... think we've covered enough for one day, don't you? We'll speak some more tomorrow."

"Yes doctor." replied Alice with a smile. "I suppose we will."

To be continued...


End file.
